The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost
by Count Le MadPhantom
Summary: Sequel to Gunsmoke & Black Roses. Jump City has a killer on the loose, and Titan's Tower has a spook. What does it all mean...?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. You guys should know that._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Prologue**_

The nights in the industrial section of Jump City were dark. All nights were dark but not like this. Smog, steam, gas, and smoke pumped from the large, humming smokestacks that jutted up from the black outlines of factories and power plants. Massive skyscrapers, used as office buildings and businesses, dotted the district; the combination of chimneys and skyscrapers gave the horizon a distinct jagged look: black shapes looming up like sentinels in a night sky.

No moonlight nor starlight could be seen on nights like this; a foul mixture of natural fog and the haze from the factories obscured the sky and made the night nearly pitch black, save for the lights of the buildings. The industrial district was always busy, always populous.

However, as a young woman in a business suit exited the revolving front door of an office building, digging absent-mindedly through her purse as she walked to her car for the nightly drive home, the street seemed oddly absent of human presence. The only company that offered itself was the wind that hissed and sighed through the buildings; occasionally, a powerful gust would blow through a tight crevasse between two buildings, resulting in a plaintive wail.

The woman shivered, closing her business coat up a bit and picking up her pace; her heels tapped nervously against the slick, glinting pavement. She hurried up a slope next to the building she'd exited from, going into a large structure marked 'Parking Garage.' She walked through numerous rows of automobiles before reaching a sleek black car.

The businesswoman sighed tiredly, rummaging through her large purse for the keys. After a bit of digging and searching about, she finally felt the cool, jagged surface of a set of keys and heard a metallic jingle. Taking hold, she pulled them up from the purse and began sorting through the keys one by one.

_"… Shhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa……"_

The woman turned around with a quick jerk and a flinch. She'd distinctly heard a sound, like a long hoarse sigh. Then, realizing it was merely wind, she turned back to her car door, inserting the keys in; she prepared to unlock the door…

_"Shah… hah…ha…ha… Haaaaaaah…"_

Once again, she turned around with a start; her wide eyes darted anxiously around the car garage. She gulped and took a shaky breath. "… H-hello…?"

Silence.

"… Is someone there…?"

As if to answer, the wind picked up and wailed mournfully into the night; it was cold, chilly wind. But… there was no sound like she thought she'd heard.

Abandoning all pretenses, she hurriedly entered her car and cranked it up, soothed somewhat by the sound of the radio playing soft guitar music. She sighed and put it in reverse, preparing to back out of the parking lot; her eyes drifted towards the rear-view mirror to make sure no one was coming behind her.

Four red, beady, pupil-less eyes were blazing in the dark behind her car.

She gasped aloud and hit the brakes, shutting her eyes tightly; she held in a cry. Her eyelids fluttered open warily, and her gaze involuntarily turned back to the mirror again.

There was nothing at all behind her.

Fairly nervous, but insisting that these were the effects of overwork and sleep deprivation, she backed out, exited the garage, and began driving towards home.

The night lights of the city shimmered dimly, bathing the whole industrial district in a sort of dim, dirty light that barely penetrated the black haze that choked it. Other cars were visible, but only because their headlights were on bright. She stopped in an intersection, preparing to turn left…

… And a figure stood out in the turn-lane, still as a statue; its quartet of piercing red eyes trained on her car. She did a double take, but the second time she looked it was gone.

Her hands clutched the steering wheel tightly, small knuckles bloodless-white with fear, cold, and the force of her grip. No longer thinking about it, she punched the accelerator and sped off into the night, hurrying on home; she flew past the speed-limit signs and red lights without stopping, reckless with terror.

Finally, after thirty minutes or so, she reached her apartment building and turned a hard left into the garage. She parked the car, got out frantically, and began running to the front door. She flung it open and stumbled into the lobby. No one was there, of course; no one ever was there because she got home so late.

She hurried up the stairs to her room, opened up her apartment door, and fell down on the couch shakily. She stayed there for several minutes before getting up and walking towards her bedroom, hoping she'd be able to get some sleep. She walked slowly down her long, bland hallway; the further she went the stronger the sense of foreboding she felt in her chest.

Walking into her bedroom, she changed into some pajamas and switched off the lights; the woman lay down in her bed and pulled the refreshingly warm covers over herself. Just as her head started nuzzling the pillow and she curled up whilst dozing off, she rolled back a bit.

She rolled into something solid and lumpy.

Gasping, she jerked awake and hopped out of bead hastily. There, in front of her, there was a large lump in the covers. Slowly it rose…

As the woman pressed herself against the wall, heart pounding and body trembling, the lump rose up and the sheets fell off, revealing a human silhouette with two pairs of glaring, unblinking crimson eyes that leered angrily, nearly mockingly, at her. She ran to the door with a yelp, trying to yank it open but… as if by some dark, higher force it was locked tight.

Before she could even turn around again, she was grabbed by the throat. Her last hope was to alert someone, anyone! She tried to scream, but managed only a strangled, gurgling whimper as her lungs burned from lack of air. She was yanked around; the figure raised something in its fist…

… A curved, serrated, scythe blade.

Four red eyes were the last things Anne Underson ever saw.

* * *

"Oh God… I c-can't believe it, I just can't… poor Anne…"

"Have you heard? She's dead!"

"… Blood all over the floor…"

"Had to search the whole apartment to find all of her…"

"… Who'd kill an innocent woman…?"

"It's murder!"

The small restaurant, Randell's Bar & Grill, was abuzz with talk, though most of the patrons' hunger had diminished to a nearly non-existent level. The subject of the talk…?

Murder.

That morning, at seven o' clock sharp, the newspaper-delivery truck had made its rounds around Jump City, just like it did every day. Crimes such a theft, fraud, and blackmail had almost always been common fodder for the media, even though the presence of the JCPD (Jump City Police Department) combined with the formidable Teen Titans—lately bolstered by the addition of two new members—Heavily discouraged law-breaking and kept the crime rate very low.

Today, however, instead of the usual weather report or commentary on the city's latest minor problems… there was present a large headline in bold print. **'BLOODY MURDER IN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT! POLICE BAFFLED!'.**

This was as much of a shock to anyone as an earthquake or tornado would have been. There were very few murders in Jump City… ever. So when news of one came 'round, it was big stuff.

"I hear the door and windows were locked…"

"How did he get in?"

"But what if the killer was a 'she'?"

"(Sobbing) Why? Why Anne? I knew her!"

"I was there… on that next morning. It was horrible…"

"… A few lumps under a blood-stained sheet on a stretcher…"

"Dreadful… simply dreadful business…"

"The apartment owners will never get the blood stains out!"

_**Several Blocks Away At The Police Station…**_

"This is great, just great." Grumbled a rather large man with a brown suit-coat and a matching cap; he muttered darkly to himself and propped his feet up on his desk. "… A murder that should've been impossible, and we haven't even found so much as a fingerprint."

He sat up with a 'humph' and whipped open a desk drawer. After thumbing through several heaps of paperwork, he finally found what he was searching for: a large folder with 'Murder Case' written neatly on the side; he opened it up and began re-reading it again for the thirteenth time that day.

_'At 8:34 A.M., the cleaning lady of Moon Sky apartments knocked at the door of Anne Underson, employee at local accounting business. There was no answer. After several more tries, she had to go find the apartment master key and open it herself. Upon entering, she discovered the remains of Ms. Underson. We were called, and reported to the scene immediately. Evidence was gruesome: a few, mutilated organs and limbs along with a sort've "Sludge" of blood and body fluids, blood stains everywhere. A few strands of hair and some ripped Pajamas red with blood. Oddly, no attempt to conceal or clean the remains seems to have been made; they were left open to discovery as though by intention. No evidence at all pertaining to perpetrator has been found; as of yet, there are no suspects.'_

Every time the chief of police—for that was indeed whom he was—read this, he grew just a bit more sick to his stomach. He'd been there with the first squad when they'd answered the call of a hysterical cleaning lady at a local apartment complex. The reports didn't even do justice… if he forgot everything else, became senile with old age… on his deathbed, he'd remember it.

There were things… things the report had left out simply because they'd been designated 'Too Disturbing For Police Record.' On the day he died, the picture of that hellishly torn about room and the non-recognizable remains of that poor girl heaped all around would dwell with him on his deathbed; of this, he was sure.

He flinched a bit at a loud knocking on the door. "Who's there?"

"The Teen Titans have come as you requested, sir." An officer in blue uniform announced.

"Good… good. We need all the help we can get… I'm glad they could make it."

The officer dropped a bit of his formal tone and sighed. "Chief… any luck? Finding anything else out, I mean…?"

He sighed heavily in response. "Nope. Nada. Whoever did this, they knew what they were doing; their crime's air-tight."

"… Right. Well, I'll go ahead an' send 'em in, then." The man responded, exiting the room hastily and leaving the police chief alone again.

A couple minutes passed before the door opened again and a few people walked in: a black haired youth in a cape and a mask, a dour looking girl in a blue cloak, and a tall redheaded girl; these were, of course, Robin, Raven, and Starfire. The others had elected to stay at the tower.

Robin shook the police chiefs hand respectfully and was the first to speak. "You… called for us, sir?"

"Yes." He said grimly. "I hate to bother you on such short notice, but… we have an urgent situation."

"So we've gathered." Raven said dryly, referring to the headlines in the newspaper… yes, even Titan's Tower gets the morning paper delivery.

"We've already searched the place… no evidence whatsoever." He continued, ignoring Raven's sarcasm. "… Look, I just need to ask a favor. Would it be possible for you guys to… patrol or something? Just… keep an eye on things around the city?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "Well… I don't see why not. Are the police going to be patrolling the area as well?"

"Yes. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for suspicious individuals. And we'll keep working on trying to figure out who or what did this."

"We'll look around tonight." Robin assured. "But… Jump City's a big place. We can't guard everything…"

The police chief looked at him and sighed sadly, suddenly looking years older and very tired. "I know… that's our problem, too."

The next week was not kind to the citizens of Jump City, or the Titans, or even the JCPD. The murder was not a one-time ordeal.

It had been only one week since the initial murder and there had already been twenty-eight more. The victims had nothing in common; they seemed to be randomly targeted and then torn apart by some mysterious force that could vanish at will and leave nothing behind.

At Titans Tower, Robin was studying paperwork and descriptions of the murders feverishly, trying in vain to find something, just one shred of evidence, which might shed some light on the situation.

The others had been patrolling the city at night, as per request, but to little affect. Smoke had sat outside a bank all night once holding his shotgun, along with Mammoth, and they had reported no suspicious activity.

Raven had spent several nights wandering dark alleyways and corners with Jinx, but they'd not found anything unusual.

Cyborg and Gizmo were trying out all sorts of scanners and things on the crime scenes but they found nothing.

Sub-Zero had acted as a bodyguard of sorts for important citizens each night, but none of them had been attacked.

Beast Boy spent a couple nights buzzing around the city as a fly on the wall, looking for anyone suspicious… nothing.

Starfire and Blackfire flew around the rooftops, getting an aerial view of everything that they could, but that didn't help any either.

Nothing seemed to be working, and the murders were becoming increasingly violent and strange. The killer had yet to be apprehended by the police, and even the Titans hadn't been able to catch him.

The Titans were currently sitting in the living room, new members Gizmo and Mammoth included, trying to work out was going on and what should be done about it.

As the rest of them chatted and argued amongst themselves, Raven sighed and laid back on the cough, trying hard to block out their loud voices; Smoke, Blackfire, Mammoth, and Cyborg were especially loud…

Wearily she glared in the other direction so as not to look at them. The long hallway towards the Titans' rooms was dim and quiet; for a moment, she considered just going back to her room and reading. All this debate didn't seem to be doing any good anyway. She stared at the hall, and… for a moment, an instant only, something shimmered reflectively.

Slightly startled, she remained silent and looked back at her friends who were still to busy in their conversation to have noticed this. She looked back.

There was a boy. A boy standing there, about five foot ten with short, neatly cut hair. It was white… just like the rest of him; he was white and transparent, and she could even see the hallway behind him through his body. He appeared to be wearing a robe of some kind…

She went slack-jawed, prepared to say something, alert the others to his presence, but… like a light bulb going out, he suddenly blinked faintly and disappeared mere moments after he'd appeared.

"But I'm telling you, if we could just…" Robin stopped mid-sentence and stared at Raven, who was reclined back on the couch and looking much like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Huh…? Rae… is something wrong…?" He asked concernedly. The others' worried gazes, she suddenly felt trained on her as well. She swallowed the lump in her throat. With one glance back to the now-empty hallway, she looked back at them and forced a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm fine."

They continued in their heated talking, while she stared at the spot where the strange… apparition… had been. Suddenly she felt a lot more wary of waking to her room. Deciding to wait 'till everyone else went to their rooms and to go with them, she sat back up and engaged in the conversation a bit, trying to put the bizarre occurrence from her mind.

But things are never quite that easy… you can put problems from your mind, but you can't get rid of them... you never can...


	2. Chapter One

_Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any part or form of The Teen Titans; this is just for fun._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter One**_

This is my fault; all of it is my fault…

No. No it's not. I didn't ASK that, that… that thing, to bring me back to life. Especially like this. Like… a monster.

I'm sorry. I should explain. My name is…

….

… I don't know. I'm me; that's the only thing I know. I would tell you my age, except I don't know that either. But, I'm guessing about sixteen from my appearance. I'm very, very sorry… I'm not much help, am I? I never am… and if I was like this when I was alive—the first time I mean—then I probably wasn't much help then, either.

Oh, I'm rambling again. I'm sorry. Er, am I apologizing too much? I'm sorry for that… gah! I did it again! Well, anyway… since there's so much I can't tell you because I don't know… then I'll gladly tell what I do know.

I am dead. Or I should be. But… now I'm not… I was brought back. Normally, I'd be overjoyed to be living again. But the fact is, I live in Hell now. I was brought back by this… creature… a horrible monster, all red with those eyes and horns. He demanded I kidnap a Raven. Why on Earth would anyone go to such lengths to kidnap a bird?

But no matter. Bird or no bird, I refused to take orders from this evil abomination, even though I was terrified at the time. I'm always terrified. Heehee… that must sound so strange coming from someone who's been turned to nothing but a ghost, but yes, I admit that I'm a coward.

But now, what I fear for most are the residents of this Tower. How I know this, I don't know, but… he's after them. And… he's using me. My body. Normally, being the weak little coward I am, this would not pose to them a threat. But… he… the monster, that is… he changed me. He made me into a monster myself! Oh Gods… what did I do in my life to deserve this?

I must warn them. If I couldn't stop the wicked red one from taking my body from the grave, then I must try to fix this trouble my body is causing under his control.

I still haven't seen any sign of this… raven. And I still want to know why a devil would bother himself with a bird… oh well. It must be quite a valuable bird, to merit his coveting… oh but listen, I'm rambling again. I'm very, truly sorry.

I'm trying to get the courage to approach them, standing in this hallway, watching them. Would they run from me…? Would they attack me? I suppose it would do them no good, me being a spirit and all, but… still, I don't want them to be afraid of me; I want to warn them. But I can't… when the devil took my body, he took my voice as well. And I… I can't… write… or read. So I can't write them a message. Could a shade like me even pick up a solid pencil…? I don't think so… I must seem so pathetic, being illiterate. (Heavy Sigh…)

…..

……

………!

The girl… that girl, she sees me! Oh no, what do I do…? Is she going to tell them…? I can't stand it! What if they think I'm him… the monster? Oh, I can't do this… I have to disappear… I'm sorry, but… I'm such a coward… a foolish coward.

… Time for me to exit, stage left. Goodbye, for now…

* * *

"A'ight, guys. Dinner… Is served." Smoke crowed proudly, striding into the dining room where everyone was gathered around the table; he carried a large silver platter with a polished lid on top.

"Smoke, I can't believe you actually volunteered to make dinner tonight." Blackfire said with a raised eyebrow.

"But I'm glad you did." Cy sighed (no pun intended.) "I'm whooped from all this killer-chasing."

"I think you mean '_Wild-Goose chasing'_." Zero sniffed disdainfully. "We haven't even found so much as a fingerprint from this guy."

"He must be a smart one, to do the things he's done and get away with it…" Beast Boy said thoughtfully. Then, he added hastily "Uh, gotten away with it so far, I mean!"

"We know what you mean." Terra sighed.

"… Am I the only one here who's confused, not by HOW he's doing it, but by WHY he's doing it?" Jinx questioned. "It doesn't make sense; the murders seem to have no point whatsoever, and the victims seem to be random."

"Some people just get a kick out of it." Blackfire mumbled with a disheartened shrug. "… There are those people who are just demented like that…"

"Look, guys… we should stop talking about this for now, before we lose our appetite." Robin warned. "There'll be plenty of time to discuss it later."

"Yeah." Mammoth grunted. "… And besides, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, you big lug!" Gizmo snapped.

They glared at each other, until Jinx leered at them; her eyes flashed pink. They yelped a bit and went silent. Everyone else just sweatdropped, anime-style.

"So…" Star asked. "What has friend Smoke prepared for our sustenance?"

The gunman in question just smiled and puffed out his chest impressively. "I thought you'd never ask! Friends, Titans, Countrymen, I give you… _Pizza A La Smoke_!"

And with that, he sat the round, silver platter on the table and whipped the lid off quickly, revealing a massive pizza that took up the entire platter. The crust on the edges seemed to be filled with melted cheeses and seasoned with herbs. The pizza itself was covered in pepperoni, sausage, pork, and bacon… although, there was a certain portion of the pizza, intended for Beast Boy, where all this had been substituted for olives, mushrooms, and little chunks of Tofu. The entire thing sizzled and gave off a faint cloud of smoke; it was fresh from the oven, it seemed. One need only inhale to take in the smell of it, and the dining room suddenly smelled like an Italian eatery.

* * *

I wonder if ghosts can eat…? Meh. Unlikely. A ghost is a soul separated from its body, so it requires no sustenance… but that food sure looks good. Maybe… maybe I could just get reeeeeaaal close and be reeeeaaal quiet, and I could grab a slice without them noticing. But, then again… that'd be stealing. (Sigh) Oh well…

"Hey Raven… you alright?"

"Yeah, you've been awfully quiet lately. I mean, even compared to usual."

Huh… Raven?

"No… I'm fine."

Wait…. THAT'S Raven? So it's not a bird! It's a girl! Well, that certainly makes more sense! But… it's the same girl that saw me earlier.

If that demon is after her, then… I have to warn her! Somehow… before my body can complete the mischief it's doing for him. Oh, I'm never going to be able to do this. I can't show myself to them, I'm… I'm… a ghost. They'd just run. And I can't even speak anyway… oh, it's hopeless…

… No! There's still a chance for me to get my body back! To live again! I just have to make my presence known, and maybe they'll feel sorry for me. Maybe they'll help me.

* * *

"I'm gonna go get us some refills…" Beast Boy said, motioning to this empty glass. He got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"So…" Robin said over a mouthful of pizza. "It's obvious you've got _something_ on your mind, Raven. Look, I know you don't like people prying into your business but… whatever it is, you know we'll help."

Everyone was looking at her now, except the absent Beast Boy. She almost felt herself begin to sweat under the close scrutiny, but she kept her face expressionless, with the same nonchalant scowl she usually wore. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke.

"Well… what if…"

"… Yes…?"

"Just… hypothetically… what if… I'd seen…. A…" She just couldn't quite get the word out. "A… a gh…"

"**_GHHOOOOOOOSSSTT_**!" A loud shriek came from the kitchen.

As everyone's stunned and surprised faces turned to the kitchen doorway. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the door flew open and out shot a green blur that jumped literally over the table and landed in Terra's arms… Beast Boy.

"What the…? What's wrong with you?" She demanded, bewildered and flushing heavily.

"Th-Th… there's a ghost in there!" He yelped, looking as though he were about to faint.

There was about thirty seconds of stunned silence. Then another thirty seconds of whooping laughter.

* * *

Oh dear… That didn't work at all like I wanted it to. I think I scared the poor guy… I feel terrible.

What are they laughing at, though? They must be laughing at me. I'm so pitiful…

* * *

"B.B… you can't expect us to believe…" Cyborg snorted, nearly crying with mirth. "That… you saw a ghost!"

"It's true! I'm telling you, I reached into the fridge to get some canned drinks, but then I felt a tap on the shoulder." Beast Boy explained.

"A tap on the shoulder…" Starfire asked skeptically, worriedly eyeing Beast Boy as though she feared for his sanity.

"Yes!" He yelped hotly. "And then, when I turned around, there was a guy… all white, transparent, wearing robes… standing there behind me, holding a canned drink and smiling. Not thinking, I took it from him and went 'Thanks!'. But then, I realized what I'd just seen, and turned… he was still standing there, smiling. And then… and then…."

"Yes…?" Terra asked, on the edge of her seat, albeit as far as she could be with a green shapeshifter in her lap..

"Eh. Then I yelled 'Ghost' and hauled butt out of there…"

Everyone nearly faceplanted, anime-style.

"Okay. So never mind Beast Boy. What is it you were saying Raven…? Hypothetically, what if you saw what…?"

"Um… a ghost."

Everyone stared disbelievingly. Then, Beast Boy leapt from Terra's lap and shouted triumphantly.

"Ha! See? I'm not crazy; Raven's seen him, too!"

"… Y… you're not… serious…" Robin stammered. "… Are you…?"

"I'm dead serious!" Beast Boy protested.

"Not you, Raven."

She blinked, everyone once again staring at her. She sighed and pulled her hood up, covering all of her face except her mouth and eyes.

"So… what if I did?" She said in a tone of casual curiously, but her voice shook and nearly cracked, betraying her.

"Then I'd say you needed to lay off the horror novels." Sub-Zero said with a blink and a bemused little smile.

"Yeah!" Smoke guffawed, punching Zero lightly in the shoulder. "Everyone knows there's no such thing as ghosts!" They both laughed.

"Of course there are." Jinx piped up. They both looked at her.

She didn't seem the least bit amused by any of this. Rather, there was look on her face of great concern. "What makes you say there aren't?"

They looked at each other dumbly.

"Well… I've never seen one." Smoke said.

"You can't see the wind. Or love. But aren't they real?" Jinx countered. She suddenly looked at Sub-Zero. "You agree with me, right Zero?"

"Uh… Well…" He remembered a certain encounter with the mirror in the bathroom, a couple months or so ago. "Actually, I do."

"Oh come on." Cyborg broke in. "If ghosts existed we'd have some kind've proof by now."

"How can you prove they don't?" Jinx asked hotly.

Robin quickly broke in. "Alright, alright, that's enough!" They went silent. "… Things are bad enough already without us fighting amongst ourselves."

"Uh… I don't mean to sound paranoid… but…" Smoke began. "… Okay, say for a minute there IS a ghost. What would we do about it?" He asked Jinx.

"I've got a Ouija Board in the closet!" Beast Boy volunteered.

"Oh those stupid things don't work." Jinx said dismissively. "… I've got several books on paranormal phenomena in my room. I'll go look to see if I can find anything that might help."

"You guys can't be serious…" Mammoth muttered. "The big bad Titans are afraid of ghosts?"

"Look, if two of us have seen it…" Raven said. "… Then it's bound to be real."

"Why would a ghost be haunting our tower?" Starfire asked wide-eyed.

"Maybe he's lost and doesn't know where to go." Jinx said. "I've heard people sometimes become ghosts because they don't pass over to the other side; y'know… they have unfinished business."

"But why would this ghost have unfinished business with us? I don't know him!" Raven said, annoyed.

Jinx shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's trying to tell us something…"

* * *

Oh Kami, I blew it! I really, truly blew it! I had one chance to befriend them and I screwed it up. I'm never going to get my body back. Or my life. Hmph. What is a life without memories, anyway? I don't even know my own damn name! That monster should've never even brought me back from the grave…

….

… I have to calm down. Rationalize the situation. There's still hope yet…

* * *

_**Two Hours Later…**_

"Have you found anything yet?" Jinx asked wearily, sifting through a thick, dusty book that looked very old.

"Not anything we didn't already know." Raven answered.

"There's got to be some way to contact ghosts." Jinx said, shutting the book closed. "… If there is, we can find out why he's here and who he is." She looked pensively over at Raven's large, crystal ball. "… Y'know, I've been thinking…"

"Thinking what?" Raven asked sharply.

"… Thinking that maybe this guy knows who our killer is. I mean, maybe he's one of the victims, come back to tell us who killed him!"

Raven paled slightly. She hadn't thought of that… "Well, if he is…" Raven answered. "… I just hope we can get rid of him after he tells us." She went back to reading her book for a few minutes.

They read silently, only bothering to look up at Raven's clock every now and then. Abruptly, Raven gasped and moved over beside Jinx, pointing at a passage in the book.

"Of course… we should've thought of this before." She said, pointing out the paragraph in question.

Leaning over a bit, Jinx skimmed the writing and raised an eyebrow. "… A séance?"

"Why not?" Raven asked. "It's worth a try. And if Beast Boy and I are right, then this'll let us talk to this ghost in person."

"Ok. But I still don't get it… why didn't he say something to Beast Boy earlier?"

"Ghosts don't have voices, per say, remember?" Raven pointed out. "There's usually some kind've incantation during the séance that gives the ghost the ability to speak. But before that, they can't."

"Oh yeah…" Jinx said, bonking herself in the forehead. "I forgot."

"We should go tell the others. We're going to need a big table, a bunch of chairs, and some candles…"

_**To Be Continued…**_


	3. Chapter Two

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine. Plain and simple, eh?_

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Two_**

"Uh… C-couldn't we, like… NOT do this and say we did?" Beast Boy stuttered with teeth chattering. His eyes darted nervously about the living room, now dimmed heavily with curtains drawn over the windows and lights turned off; the only light was provided by the smattering of flickering candles as they shed their shimmering lights across the room, making bizarre shadow-shapes and glows.

Sub-Zero sneezed loudly and sniffed. "Darling…" He said, referring to Jinx. "Was all the incense really necessary?" He asked wiping his nose. The poor knight seemed a bit allergic to it.

"Sorry dear, but we're going by the book." Jinx said, pointing brightly to the book she and Raven had been reading.

"Yes. And we DO have to do this. It's the only way we're going to get any answers." Raven snapped grumpily, straightening a crooked candlestick.

"Yeesh. This place gives me the creeps now." Smoke said with a slight shiver. "… Although, I still have a hard time believing there's a ghost here."

Blackfire turned to him with a smirk and giggled. "Well, if there is one, maybe he's more scared of us than we are of him!"

* * *

Miss, you don't know the half of it. The large one with the sideburns is especially scary. Mammoth, was he called…? Hm. An apt name for such a muscle-bound behemoth. So, they're holding a séance, eh? Good! I can finally communicate with them… hopefully. But I still can't talk…

* * *

"Well, if we do have a spook… I'm ready for 'im." Smoke said with a smile. "Check this out!"

He reached back to his back, and pulled his shotgun out of the holster. Everyone squinted their eyes to see in the darkness. Finally, Cyborg gasped.

"What'd you do to it?" He demanded.

Smoke's shotgun had seven barrels now, no longer in a square shape. Three barrels arranged in a curved shape on each side to make a circle, with one in the center; that made seven total. The handle had also been fitted with a bigger blade than before.

"Eh. Added a few more barrels and a better blade. I know that gunshots probably won't hurt a ghost, but…" He grinned sheepishly. "… At least it'll make him think twice."

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed. "Smoke, ghosts cannot harm you."

"Maybe…" Zero interrupted. "… But I agree with Smoke. It's best that we take no chances."

"Hmph." Gizmo sneered form his chair. "There's only one of him, and a lot of us. If somehow he did attack us, we'd still win."

"Runt's got a good point." Smoke said, cocking his seven-barreled shotgun and propping it carelessly on his shoulder. "I think it's a pretty safe bet that we're… well, safe."

"But perhaps he is not hostile…?" Starfire asked with a yawn. "What if his intentions are good…?"

* * *

Finally, someone that understands me! The green-eyed broad is odd, but she's at least friendly…

Hmph. I can't say I care much for that gentleman with the firearm. Or that white-haired brute in the blue armor.

* * *

"If he's not against us…" Robin reasoned. "Then he's with us."

A slight pattering noise distracted them from the conversation. It started out slowly, softly, then it picked up; it gradually became louder, faster, harder. Soon, it was a watery hiss accompanied by the thudding made by a swarm of large raindrops hitting the windowpanes.

"It's… raining." Terra said softly.

"Oh, great…" Beast Boy moaned. "Dark AND stormy. And It'll be nighttime in a few minutes…."

"Good." Jinx said pensively. "That's good condition for a séance. Dark and stormy weather in the night. Actually, the book said to wait until midnight, but I'm not that patient so…" Her eyes flickered with anticipation in the darkness. "We'll do it now."

At that moment, a loud rumbling shook the roof, thunder, and a lightning bolt illuminated the room instantaneously. It was like a cannon firing in the sky, loud and foreboding with the lightning as its fire.

"Eh… Look, if we're going to do it…" Cyborg said finally. "… Then, now'd be a good time, ya'll. I wanna get this over with…"

"Then…" Raven reached into a small drawer on the large wooden table that she and Jinx had set up. She pulled out a deck of cards… "We better get started."

"Cards…?" Zero asked, blinking. "I thought we were conjuring a ghost, not playing poker."

"We are!" Jinx said. "There's a special purpose for these, you'll see…"

"Urgh… I was afraid you'd say that."

"… What was that?"

"Oh, Uh… nothing darling. Go ahead."

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed, then proceeded to shuffle the deck of playing cards; they seemed to be ordinary playing cards, red and black with kings and jacks and things on them. She mixed them up carefully and straightened them up, then, she sat the shuffled deck on the table next large, lit candelabra.

* * *

Uh oh. It's starting…

Grr… why did ALL of them have to attend? I hate crowds… and I also hate being the center of attention. What are they going to do, and what do I have to do…?

(Groan) _Kuso_! This is no time to be whining like a craven coward. I have to do this, whether I want to or not.

* * *

"Ok. First of all, everybody's supposed to join hands or it won't work." Raven explained.

In the space of about five seconds, Starfire had moved so that she was next to Robin, Smoke scooted over by Black, Beast Boy sat beside Terra, and Zero moved over a chair to be next to Jinx. Once everybody was situated, they all grabbed hands like she'd said… and at that moment, a white-hot flash of lightning cracked like a whip, and the thunder roared loudly as the rain picked up and became heavier.

"Ow! Don't squeeze my hand so hard." Gizmo snapped at Mammoth.

"Uh, sorry." Mammoth grunted.

"(Sigh) I don't get it. How does holding hands affect anything?" Beast Boy askede.

Raven's eyes flashed white for a moment. "Would all of you just hush, before you scare him away?" Once everybody'd settled down, she sighed and continued, pulling her hood up over her face as she spoke, leaving only her piercing gaze exposed.

"Here's how it's going to work. We just ask questions, and he, hopefully, will respond… if he exists and Beast Boy and I aren't just crazy." She said flatly.

* * *

But how am I supposed to respond when I can't talk?

… Kami. This is ironic… I'm the ghost in this séance, and it's even giving ME the creeps.

* * *

"Supposedly…" Jinx picked up where Raven left off. "… If he's there, he'll respond with a card from the deck. Red cards for yes, and Black cards for no. So as of right now, only yes or no questions."

* * *

Ohhh, I see! That's quite ingenious, actually. Who comes up with this stuff?

Right… Ok. Red for yes, black is for no; it seems simple enough.

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your questioning.

* * *

Raven cleared her throat. There was a long, uncomfortable silence…

"Um… Are you… Is anyone there?" She started out softly. "Can you hear us…?"

For a minute or so, nothing happened. Then, there was a flash of lightning, but no thunder, just a silent flash. And in it, there was illuminated a floating deck of cards in the dark.

There was a sort've collective gasp around the round, wooden table as the cards hovered in midair, as though gripped firmly by some unseen force. They shuffled themselves about, then…

FWAP!

One of them slapped itself down on the table noisily. Then, slowly but surely, the rain hissed loudly and a soft rumble in the distance sounded as the cards floated back down to the table, still in a perfect deck; everyone stared in disbelief.

In that dimmed, flickering candlelight, surrounded by the mournful hiss of rain and the stuffy scent of burning incense, it all seemed surreal; it was like something you'd see in a horror movie. Everything seemed to be taking place in slow, but smooth, motion. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Raven reached out with a trembling hand and started to grab the card, but… she froze. She suddenly felt wary of touching it, as though it might bight or something… but then, she took a deep breath to fortify her nerves and slowly gripped the card and pulled it up from the table.

Shaking all over now, she held it up and squinted to see; it was hard to tell what was on the card in all the darkness. But suddenly, as if on cue, lightning struck again and lit up the card, and crazy shadows danced over its surface, making the printed picture of a king on it seemed pallid and grotesque; Raven gasped loudly as she saw the answer.

… The card was red; it was a red Jack of Hearts.

For a moment, low murmuring filled the room.

"… Oh my God…" Sub-Zero stuttered. "… It IS real…" Next to him, Jinx gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as she felt his palm go sweaty and shaky, and his face seemed to go even more pale than usual, if that was at all possible.

"Shhh!" Raven hushed everyone impatiently. Then, she took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself enough to speak. On the outside, she remained stoic and emotionless as usual, but on the inside… her heart was thumping in her chest like a steel drum.

Eventually, as she gripped the edge of her cloak under the table (so the others wouldn't see her nervousness), she opened her mouth; she mouthed and tried to speak but nothing came out at first. She cleared her throat and spoke softly.

"Are you… here to… hurt us…?"

For a good thirty seconds, nothing happened. Then, a few of the candles flickered and waved about violently but didn't go out. Then, one of the cards suddenly slid out of the deck, though the deck itself didn't move at all, and landed on the table. As though it had legs, it inched forward, crawling along the table. Then, it stopped in front of Raven. This time, she reached out and snatched it. Turning it over and holding it up to the nearby candelabra, she looked at the other side.

It was a black queen of clubs, signifying 'No.'

She began breathing heavily. 'I can't believe it. This is for real.' She thought slowly, her mind reeling with shock.

"Um… d-do… d-do…" Raven swallowed the lump in her throat. "… Do we know you?"

This time, the cards flew into the air like a flock of birds, and everyone stared and gasped loudly, Terra and Starfire even started letting out terrified little whimper. Then, they all snapped back together instantaneously, except for one, which fell to the table in front of Raven. The rest thumped back down into a neat stack. She reached out and poked it a couple times, as though checking to see if it were alive. Then, she picked it up.

The card she held in her hands this time was a black 6 of hearts. No, he didn't know them…

"Then… do you… are you trying to tell us something…?" She asked, unable to contain the shaking in her voice, which cracked on the word '_tell'_.

… A card shot silently out of the side of the deck like a shot, and slid to a stop in front of Raven. She eyed it warily, and everyone craned their necks as they looked to see; this was the big moment…

Raven gulped silently. Fear was beginning to rise in her heart, though she repressed it right down again, just like all emotions; she had to do so. Then, carefully but deliberately, she reached out with a fluid motion and picked up the card between her index finger and her middle finger, and she held it up for all to see.

In her grasp was none other than a red ace of spades.

Nothing else happened for a long time, and the whole scene was still and motionless… except, of course, of the dancing shadows and flickering candles that constantly moved in erratic jerks and twitches and the colored, iridescent fumes rising lazily from the burning incense and forming eerie shapes, like writhing silhouettes in the dark, silent air. It was like an illustration from some strange, gothic fairy tale; it was frightening, yet, beautiful and strange, especially when combined with the rumbling thunder, moaning rains, and the flashes of lightning, like whip cracks in the sky, that illuminated the chambers and made visible the Teen Titans' shocked faces.

Raven wasn't quite sure what to do next… after all, 'what are you trying to tell us?' is not a yes or no question, but…

She reached for the large book on the table and began skimming through it urgently, sifting through the pages at high speed while her blue-black eyes searched for the page she needed. Finally, she found the right page and sat the book down. Motioning for everyone to be quiet, even though it was already silent enough to hear a pin drop, she cleared her throat and started to read off the page a strange incantation. Then, she stopped abruptly and looked around, as though she expected something to happen.

"… I wonder what she's saying…?"

Everyone's head snapped around and they looked frantically around the room, mouthing 'Did you say that?' to each other, only to be answered by shaken heads. None of the Titans had said that…

"… Hmph. They ask me if I've come to tell them something, then they don't even ask me what I came to tell them. But then, it's ok since they can't hear me anyway." A very high and tenor-sounding, though distinctly masculine, voice rang out of nowhere in a warbling, ethereal tone.

Apparently, he didn't realize he'd been given voice by Raven's incantation. But she was the first to speak after him.

"… No. We CAN hear you."

For a moment, there was silence. Then…

"… You can…? You can! Finally! I was beginning to think I'd never be able to communicate with you!"

Everyone was intensely freaked out by this point, understandably… but though everyone else looked like they were on the verge of fainting, Raven kept her cool… mostly.

"… Why don't you show yourself? And tell us what you have to say?" Raven asked.

"Uh…" The voice suddenly sounded weaker and a little shaky. "C-couldn't I just tell you… without appearing?"

Suddenly, for the first time that evening, Robin spoke up from his seat. "How can you expect us to trust you if you don't even show yourself? You're a ghost, for crying out loud!"

The voice disappeared for a moment. But then… it mumbled something.

"… Sorry, I don't think we caught that." Smoke grunted sarcastically. "For a ghost, you ain't very scary."

"… (Sigh) You… you won't…."

"Won't… what?" Jinx asked slowly.

"… You promise you won't run away from me…?"

Everyone was silent. Finally, Raven spoke up again. "… Sure. Deal."

…

…

At that moment, every candle in the room blew out for no apparent reason, and a cold chill swept over everyone present, causing them to shiver slightly… all except Zero, who thought it was rather cozy, but you get the idea.

Then, like a pair of car headlights in a night sky, there was suddenly a blinding flash from the center of the table. And when it had dimmed enough for them to open their eyes, a white, transparent boy was sitting on the middle of the table, Indian-style.

… And at that moment, Star passed out cold and slid off the chair into a heap on the floor.

"_**STAR**_!" Robin yelled. Instantly, he was down next to her trying to wake her up.

The ghostly boy on the table winced and moaned softly. "I'm so sorry. I'm more trouble than I'm worth." He sighed, fading out again as he did so. "I'll just disappear and…"

"No! Wait a minute!" Jinx protested. "You haven't told us what you had to tell us!"

"Oh… right." The boy said sheepishly "Well, uh… This is going to come as something of a shock and it's a pretty bizarre situation, but…" He cleared his throat, and eyed them intensely with his ghostly eyes. "… You are all in very grave danger. And I need your help, desperately."

"Uh…" Cyborg cleared his throat. "… Sorry dawg, but… don't you think it's a little late for that? I mean, you're already dead…"

"No! well, yes, I am, but… I don't have to be. If I can just get my body back—"

"Your body?" Robin asked as he continued trying to reawaken Starfire. "What do you mean, your body?"

"I mean, my body is under some kind've… control, of a monster and I need it back. I could live again!" He sighed dreamily.

"Again…? You were already alive…?" Jinx asked interestedly.

"… I think. At one time, yes… but I don't remember. The creature took my memories when he resurrected me. And when I refused to kidnap Raven—"

"What?" Raven asked sharply.

The ghostly boy hovered in the air a bit and sighed. "Look, please Miss, I know it sounds crazy, but… there's some kind of demon after you! And when I refused to help him, he took my body and my weapons, and used them like a puppet, leaving me out here as a helpless spirit. He's using it as his "agent", if you will."

Thunder crashed again, and everyone jumped, even the ghost.

There was a look on Raven's face. She looked like someone who was suddenly terrified but was keeping it held in. Her face was emotionless, but her skin had paled and she had suddenly begun to sweat. "… D-did this… creature… have a name?" Her question was barely audible.

The ghost looked at her with concern and opened his mouth to answer, but…. Suddenly, his head snapped up and he looked around as though he'd seen another ghost… beside himself…

He looked as though he sensed something, something terrible. He turned his transparent face to them, looking terrified.

"Um… actually… perhaps you should just ask him yourself. He, uh… H-he… seems to be…"

Suddenly, all the doors in the room they were in slammed shut of their own accord, and a loud cackling filled the entire Tower.

"… He… seems to be… here."


	4. Chapter Three

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, at all._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Three_**

"Well… this is an unfortunate turn of events." The spirit hovering above the circular table said sheepishly to the stunned superheroes.

(A/N: Heh. Spirit hovering above the circular table said to the stunned superheroes. Say THAT five times fast.)

He smiled nervously and started fading out again. "Eh, I'll just… be on my way and…"

"Hang on!" Cyborg protested. "What the Hell's going on? You can't just bail out like this!"

"I can't help you…" The ghost lamented. "I wish I could, but I can't. He's still got my body… and it's here."

Shortly after he'd said this, the candles in the room flickered out, engulfing them in a sea of black shadows. Still, the luminous glow coming from the ghost shed a bit of light on them.

"My body's here." He restated. "And I can't do anything without it. But I'd be very appreciative if you could help me get it back…" He said.

"How?" Robin asked, just as he managed to reawaken Star who'd passed out previously. She moaned a little and sat up, staring at the ghost wide-eyed.

"I…" His ethereal voice wavered. "… I don't know. I was hoping… that…. Perhaps…. You would know." He said, motioning to them.

"What do we look like, ghost experts?" Smoke snarled. The ghost in question cringed on the table and flinched. Blackfire shook Smoke by the arm lightly.

"Smoke, don't… you're scaring him!" She hissed. He softened a bit, loosening the grip on his newly augmented shotgun.

"Look…" he sighed. "I'm sorry. But the only ones here that would know anything like that are Raven and Jinx."

Sub-Zero nodded and turned to his left, facing Jinx. "Can you help?" He asked. "After all… this gentlemen went to all the trouble of warning us…" Zero's red eyes darkened with concern. "… the least we can do is help him out. Do you think you and Raven can do it?"

Jinx hesitated. "I… I don't know. I mean, It… seems like I've read something before; it was about transferring souls into bodies. But…" She looked down at the floor. "… Only powerful magic-users can pull things like that off. I don't know if we…"

"We can do it." Raven broke in flatly. "We'd just have to have some sort've spell; I've got a small library's worth in my room. If we can just find the right one…"

"So you'll help me?" The ghost interjected, voice high and surprised. A huge smile spread across his transparent cheeks, and he glowed brighter than before; he now illuminated the whole room. "Oh, arigato, domo arigato! I knew you could help!"

"Don't get too excited." Mammoth grunted. "How are they supposed to get you in there if it's under some monster's control?"

He faltered; his smile faded quickly. "… I… don' know."

"Speaking of which, why hasn't he attacked us yet…? We heard him laughing!" Beast Boy pointed out, chattering his teeth and looking freaked out by this whole affair.

"He must be waiting for us to come to him." Terra said nervously.

Whilst they continued to chatter, Raven eyed the ghostly boy floating just above the table, cross-legged. There was something unusual about this whole situation, besides the fact that it involved a ghost and a demon (whom she was afraid she already knew the identity of.) Aside from all that, there was something else that bothered her.

… Why did she feel so sorry for this guy? She'd met him only a few minutes ago, and already, she pitied him like she'd known him for a long time. This, needless to say, was odd behavior for someone who generally remained socially detached from everyone except her closest friends, and even they were kept somewhat at arm's length; Raven didn't typically do pity. But this boy was different somehow, even though she didn't know what the difference was; she merely knew that it indeed existed.

The room suddenly went dead silent as Robin let out a loud "Shh!"

There was buzzing… the room was filled with a low, thrumming, hum like an electric generator, except that it was warbling and hissing; it sounded, not like one sound, but like many individual buzzing noises blending together to make one, ominous thrum.

Starfire looked all around fearfully. "… W-what… what is that… sound?"

"I don't know." Robin replied nervously; he gripped her by the shoulders and held her near his side protectively.

Smoke muttered darkly under his breath as he cocked his seven-barrel shotgun; it sounded suspiciously like: "Y'want me? Come get me…" Or something along those lines. Blackfire formed an energy ball in each hand and scooted close to him, unnerved badly by the noise.

As the buzzing grew louder, ever more insistent, Sub-Zero drew his sword and stood in front of Jinx, as though to protect her from anything that might come their way. Jinx stood up and looked about, trying to identify the source of the noise.

"It's… I dunno. It sounds like…" Beast Boy strained his sensitive ears. "… Bugs. Some kind've… bugs."

"Yeah…" Smoke, with ears almost as good as B.B.'s, agreed. "He's right."

Terra fidgeted nervously. "… Bugs? Why would bu—"

Mid-sentence, all Hell broke loose.

With a startling crash, every window in the room shattered into tiny shards, flying through the air like tiny, razor-sharp projectiles. Everyone screamed and ducked in time to avoid the flying debris as it came hurtling into the room. The glass crunched on the floor as the curtains that had been covering the windows flew open and flapped frantically as though there was a strong wind… even though there was none.

Without warning, a black mass of… something… came flowing into the windows. Writhing, buzzing, squirming, it hovered slowly in and covered the room like a strange, living blanket. Though black mostly, it was dotted all over with tiny, glowing spheres of red, like hellish, flaming stars in a dark and shadowy night.

Out of sheer shock and panic, and more than a little fear, the normally organized team scattered and bolted, running out of whatever doors were nearest and slamming them shut, locking them securely; the Teen Titans were, for the first time in a long time, running scared, except for the one ghost who merely let out a frightened yelp and blinked into invisibility; he disappeared entirely…

Once the room was empty, the Titans having upped and ran with their proverbial tails between their legs, the current of twitching blackness, buzzing eerily, suddenly gave a massive, collective shudder and…

… Broke into small creatures that flew around the room erratically. They were black insects with glowing red eyes and large wings. They were locusts…

… A swarm of locusts had just broken into Titan's Tower.

Seconds after this, another shape came approaching the tower, visible only through a large window. At first, nothing could be seen through the window because of the fog of the night and the heavily overcast skies. But then, something flapped… something huge.

They were bat wings. There was a massive pair of bat wings, with a small, vaguely human figure in-between, soaring at high speeds towards the tower like a bat out of Hell; the wingspan was at least twenty feet or so…

Shortly, it closed the distance between itself and the tower, and smashed in the window with a kick. It came down and landed on its feet, revealing itself to be human… appearance-wise, anyway. Its wings folded down and seemed to disappear, melting into the figure's long, tattered, black trenchcoat, made of leather and torn from age and wear. Underneath this coat was a Japanese-style ninja suit, bright red in color with silver hand-gauntlets and brown ninja sandals. His face was tanned heavily, with jet black hair combed down into bangs that covered half of his face; the other half was revealed with a pair of red eyes. Though only two were visible, the young man… or creature… had four total; all four glowed bright red. The bottom left one was covered by a golden monocle…

He loosed a deranged chuckle and twitched slightly, peering towards the doors that the Titans had bolted through.

"Heheh…eheheh…heheheheheh… Come out, come out, wherever you are…. I'm gonna get youu….HEHEHEH!" His voice was… like the ghost's; it sounded like the spirit that the Titans had communicated with, but… it was twisted, warped sounding.

He held out his silvery gloved hands, and the locusts flocked to his palm, almost seeming to be absorbed into the gloves; they disappeared. With a fluid motion, he reached down to his waist where a scabbard hung. Inside it was a golden katana, and around his waist, holding the scabbard up, was a chain-scythe twisted around his waist like a belt.

He removed from his trenchcoat a fistful of Pentagram-shaped throwing stars… and starting skulking towards a door…

* * *

The first thing Blackfire did upon bolting from the room was cursing herself for losing her cool like that. After a bit of shivering in the women's bathroom of the Tower, she collected herself and peeked out of the door, into the dark hallways. She flipped a switch, but… nothing happened.

The power was out. The lights were useless, rendering Titan's Tower dark.

She almost panicked with fear, but forced herself to calm down and reasoned that the first thing she needed to do was to find the others.

'I'm a big girl; I can handle myself.' She reasoned mentally.

But as she floated slowly through dark corridors and shadowy rooms, without a trace of the others in sight, she began to shake involuntarily. Suddenly, she was REALLY sorry for not sticking with the others. In particular, she longed to find Smoke; she'd feel a lot more secure with him around.

Just as she was muttering angrily to herself for acting like such a whiny-baby, something thumped loudly behind her…

She jerked and gasped, whipping instantly around with eyes blazing threateningly; she formed a sphere of energy in her right palm and held it out as if to ward off some unseen force.

"Wh-who's there…?" She demanded shakily.

There was, for a minute silence. But then, a familiar voice rang out from the shaded corner...

"… Black… Blackfire? Is that… you?"

Blackfire went limp with relief, and slid down to the ground on her knees, sighing wearily as she did so; she recognized this voice anywhere. "… Come on out, Terra. It's me."

Sure enough, the geomancer's blonde head poked uncertainly from behind a large recliner; she'd been hiding behind it. Her blue eyes were large and watery looking in the darkness, and her face was pale. "Oh, am I glad you found me! I thought… I thought you were…"She couldn't seem to finish the sentence, but Blackfire got the idea.

"Well, I'm not. But we can't just stay in here; the others could be in trouble. We have to go find them!"

"I know that! But… where are they? Everyone scattered; it all happened so fast… I didn't even see where they'd gone…"

"Well…" Blackfire looked around the dark room and shivered. "… I don't know. We're just going to have to look, but we must be careful. The power's off, meaning that we're going to be stumbling around in the dark."

Terra walked over to the far end of the room, slowly and hesitantly opening a door, as if to go through it. "… Come one. Let's get going, just so long as we be very qui—" She was cut off midsentence.

A tall, lanky looking form was standing in the doorway with curved, oblong horns and slitted, glaring panther-like eyes that glinted like moonbeams in the night.

Almost immediately, Terra and Blackfire squealed simultaneously, and jerked back…

… But so did the other figure, and when the moonlight hit him/her/it just right, the "horns" were revealed to be fluffy and pink, and the eyes to be decidedly human and feminine.

Terra exhaled in relief. "… Jinx…?"

Aforementioned witch dragged herself from behind a shelf, which she'd leapt behind when they'd scared the crap out of each other. "Terra? What the…? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, GIVE ME A HEART-ATTACK?" She demanded angrily, holding a slender hand over the left side of her chest; she could feel her small heart thumping panicked and frightened.

"YOU? You almost gave us a—" Blackfire protested, but Terra cut them off.

"Never mind! Look, the important thing is you found us. Now, we have to find the others…"

Abruptly, their conversation was cut short yet again when a small telephone mounted on the wall of the room abruptly rang into life. They jumped in fright, then simultaneously turned around to eye the phone warily; they seemed afraid to approach it.

"… Don't answer it. Don't even touch it." Jinx said immediately.

"But what if it's one of the others, trying to get in touch with someone and find out where they are in the tower?" Protested the blonde geomancer.

"What's so threatening about a telephone?" Asked Blackfire, pretending to be nonchalant about the whole thing even though her heart was racing.

"Well, ok then!" Jinx snapped. "If you're so convinced, why don't YOU answer it? Besides, if they wanted to know where we were, they'd use the communicators, not the phone!"

The telephone continued to ring insistently; it showed now signs of stopping…

Finally, Blackfire… Terra and Jinx both seemed too scared to do it… slowly approached the phone, and picked up the receiver. With a shaky, but firm voice, she whispered into the receiver uncertainly. "… H-hello…?"

There was a long moment of awkward silence that seemed to go in slow motion and stretch out to eternity. But then…

"… Ah… Hello… tell me… is that… witch… there…? This… Jinx…?" The voice on the other end was slow and calm, but venomous. Worse yet, it sounded like the ghost they'd been speaking to earlier. But it wasn't. It was different, like his voice except more raspy, more mean; it sent cold chills down Blackfire's spine…

"… What do you want…?" She asked into the receiver, her soft voice a mixture of anger and fear.

There was a sinisterly dark chuckle on the other end. "Oh, nothing… I simply thought she might like to know about that young, ah… friend… of hers. With white hair…"

"What about him?" Blackfire demanded snappily.

"Why… he's… about to die, of course."

The phone, instantly and abruptly, went dead again.

With wide, watery eyes and trembling hands, Blackfire turned shakily towards the other two, who were looking at her concernedly.

"…Wh… who… who was it?" Terra asked.

"What did they want?" Jinx added curiously.

Blackfire couldn't seem to find the right words.

* * *

"Come on, come on, pick up!" Sub-Zero moaned to the communicator in his hands. Finally, he growled and put the thing away into his belt, muttering darkly about the thing; he didn't seem too happy. "… Damned machines…"

The knight sighed, and slid his face into his hands, feeling humiliated. He'd ran. He'd run away from a fight, losing track of all his friends in the first place, and, more importantly, he'd… he'd left Jinx behind.

He'd die if anything harmed her; if it had, then it was his fault. He'd upped and ran like a damnable, craven coward when his friends needed him. Sure, they'd done the same, but… if he'd stayed and fought… then maybe they would have seen it and stayed too.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he got up and drew his icy rapier, Eviglasere. If anything happened… he wanted to be prepared.

In his thoughts, he never noticed the four red eyes along with a golden glint that were behind him…

"**HYYAA**!"

Before Zero could even turn around, he was kicked from behind onto the ground, a loud surprised grunt escaping his pale lips. He got up and turned around in time to see… the ghost?

No. Not the ghost… his body. Except that it had four red eyes, and was holding a golden katana. It spoke in what sounded like a bizarre parody of the kindly ghost's voice…

"So, Zero. Time to die!" And then, with these simple words, he lunged at Zero with the katana; he aimed a powerful horizontal slice that was aimed to hack into Zero's chest.

Fortunately, Zero lithely sashayed out of the way, and stabbed the mysterious attacker through the shoulder; his icy blade cut straight through, then whipped back out coated with what looked like blood.

The ninja-like swordsman, undoubtedly the stolen body the ghost had told them about, howled with pain, and whipped back around; he stuck a defensive pose.

"I know that isn't your body." Zero said matter-of-factly, his normal voice replaced by the icy hiss he reserved for fights and business. "… So why don't you be a good boy, and give it back."

"Hah. Foolish mortal! Your friend thought she'd destroyed me, didn't she? Perhaps… perhaps not. She defeated me, yes. And a terrible thing to be beaten by one's own child. But no matter! I am a demon; I cannot be truly killed, ever. And I WILL have her, one way or another… if I can't bend the pathetic boy to my will, then I will use him as a puppet!"

Sub-Zero, quite baffled and trying to absorb all this information, was too unconcentrated to block a vicious vertical slash from the sword that hit him square in the face. As the blade cut into his pale skin, a small amount of blood spurted… or more accurately, dripped… from the thin, but deep, wound across his face; Sub-Zero fell to the ground, clutching his face in severe pain.

As the demon-possessed swordsman grew ever nearer, Zero managed to bite the proverbial bullet and crawl to his feet, gasping with pain.

There was now a long gash on his face, between his nose and his left eye, that would definitely leave a very permanent scar.

"Bastard…" Zero grunted, before drawing his sword.

The demonic ninja laughed gleefully as he made another slice at Zero's legs… the knight dashed backwards and dodged the blow with agility; the slice missed and the ninja snarled and brought the golden blade upwards again in an uppercut motion, this time aimed at Zero's hips. Zero jumped over it and flipped into the air, landing behind him.

Then, before the confused assailant could react, Zero lunged forward elegantly, his boots tapping on the ground, and pierced into the warrior's right leg with a powerful stab. Then, he quickly withdrew his frozen blade and slashed the other leg across the calf; he finished the 3-part combo by head butting him in the back, sending him sprawling forward onto the ground.

"Ok. Time to get that guy's body back…"

Zero sheathed his sword with a fast click, and then charged up a freeze beam in his hands. There was a moment of bluish white light that surrounded the room, and then he cried out and launched the bright snowy-blue ray straight at the downed attacker.

There was a miniature mushroom cloud of snow, wind, ice, and blue light…

Then, when the cacophony settled, the assailant was frozen in a small iceberg right there in the middle of the room; he was stiff in the same position he'd fallen in.

Sub-Zero fell to his knees, panting and clutching his still-bleeding face. Then, getting up grimly, he managed to stumble over to a nearby mirror, gazing in.

"Damn… that's… definitely gonna leave… a scar." He groaned in pain.

Suddenly, the communicator in his belt rang, scaring the crap out of him.

He reached shakily into his belt and retrieved the yellow device. Flipping it open, he answered. "Yeah?"

"Zero?" Jinx's concerned voice was on the other end, along with her face displayed in the communicator's round screen. "Thank God I found you, we wer—"

She stopped at the sight of his face, her eyes going wide.

"Zero! You're hurt!"

"No, no… really, I'm Ok; it's only a scratch." He insisted soothingly. "But… listen, do you think you could really get that ghost fellow back in his body if I could procure it for you…?"

She seemed to think about this for a moment. Then, she nodded hesitantly. "I think… probably. Why?"

"First… round up the others. Then, kindly try to get ahold of that ghost fellow again; tell him I've got his body, and that I'm keeping it on ice for him…"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

_**Damn, it's been a long time since I updated. Sorry this took so long, and I know I haven't updated Moonlight Maelstrom in FOREVER, but… I've been very busy; I promise I'll do better in the future.**_

_**In other news, I now have an account on The address is count-le-madphantom. I'm working on an original fic, not a fanfic, with my own characters, stories, and places. Any of you that are into deviantart, I'd appreciate some readers…**_


	5. Chapter Four

_Disclaimer: The Teen Titans do not, in any way, shape, or form, belong to me._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Four**_

"Raven's on her way; she found a spell that might work…" Robin told Sub-Zero as he handed the knight a small, wet towel. He groaned and put it over his slashed eye; still there and intact, but with a wicked scar running vertically across it.

Zero was lying sprawled on a couch, in the same room in which he'd frozen the mysterious attacker. In this state, it was even more evident that the assailant strongly resembled, and was even identical to, the ghost from earlier; the only difference was his four red eyes…

"I'm sorry… If I'd gotten here sooner—" Robin started.

"Don't." Zero interrupted. "… I'm fine; this little scratch is not going to be the end of me, after all."

There was an awkward pause…

"I managed to contact most of the others…" Robin began. "… They're on their way. But…" He paused. "… We haven't made contact with our, ah… friend… again yet… The ghost."

Abruptly, a cold chill swept over them.

"Sorry I'm late, but… I really do hate dangerous situations… even though I'm just a ghost…"

Both of them jumped about three feet or so in the air and jerked around to look, badly startled; Robin went nearly as pale as Zero, and Zero let out a frightened yelp. Then, upon seeing it was the harmless spirit from before, they groaned.

Zero's blood red eye, now marred by the sore scar, twitched slightly and narrowed. "… Never… Do… That… AGAIN." He said in almost a calm growl.

The ghost gulped and started shaking, and it seemed he was beginning to vanish again; immediately, Zero felt like a bastard and cleared his throat apologetically. "Uh, I mean… I'm sorry; please forgive me for that. But… kindly give us a bit of warning in the future, alright?" He sighed.

"Of course…" The ghost said, looking relieved. "I'm sorry I didn't just now, but I was so—" He stopped dead, no pun intended, upon noticing the frozen attacker who looked identical to him…

"Hey… that's… me! My body! You found it!" He said ecstatically. He tried to shake Zero's hand, but his ethereal appendage just passed through, causing him to jerk back apologetically. "Oh, I can't thank you enogh!"

"No." Robin interrupted. "Don't thank us yet. Whatever or whoever's controlling it… is still in there…"

Zero nearly kicked himself, just remembering his brief encounter with the strange entity that was pulling the strings; he'd forgotten to tell Robin!

"That reminds me… I don't know who he is, but I talked to him!" Zero said urgently.

Robin snapped his head towards Zero, masked eyes wide and shocked. "You did? What did he say?"

Zero tried to wrack his brain for details, scanning his memory; he was a bit unclear after the entire earlier ruckus. "Well… something about… Raven. He was after Raven."

"Yes, like I said!" The ghost beamed.

"And… he said…" Zero stopped suddenly, a slightly troubled look upon his face. "… Something… something about his… child. Defeated by his own child, but not killed."

Robin looked pensively at him, but shrugged and turned away. He had hardly done so, however, when suddenly his entire body went ramrod straight… slowly, almost fearfully, he turned around to look at Sub-Zero incredulously; he looked, appropriately, like he'd seen a ghost. "… What…? No…"

"What is it…?" Zero asked, disturbed by Robin's reaction.

"What… no, can't be…" Robin shook his head, as though to clear his thoughts. "What else did he say?" he demanded softly.

Zero sighed and scratched his head. "… He… said that… he'd been defeated, but demons can't be killed, only beaten; he wanted to get to Raven one way or another, and he wasn't gonna give up."

"If it helps…" the spirit piped in suddenly. "I've seen him! He's huge… and red. I thought surely I was looking at the devil himself… he was red, with pointed ears and four burning yellow eyes; his hair was white, as white as Zero's! But… he also had big horns, like sharp deer antlers almost. And… He had tusks and fangs…"

"Stop!" Robin blurted out suddenly. They both looked at him, startled by his reaction; normally, he was calm and collected, not… panicked. "I… I don't want to hear anymore."

Deeply concerned, Zero stepped slowly over to Robin, who was sitting with his face in is hands. He stared thoughtfully, and then asked softly, almost hesitantly: "… Robin… is there… something we should know…?"

There was a long moment of eerie, awkward silence.

Then, Robin turned his gaze to them, and he suddenly seemed many years older; his voice was hollow, his face pale.

"Guys… please, just… pray that I'm wrong."

* * *

Smoke cursed a bit to himself as he slowly edged through the dark halls, shotgun drawn. The others had contacted him via communicator, and he was on his way now; they'd assured him that the attacker had been subdued and that the situation was now under control, but this place still gave him the creeps. His seven-barreled shotgun, or Nock Gun as he now referred to it, was cocked and loaded, ready to fire at a moment's notice; he didn't want to take any chances.

"They said they were in the big room on the fifth floor… So…" He mumbled to himself, trying to get his bearings. "… I'm on the fifth floor; they can't be far now. I just need to keep going in this direction…"

Striding across the room, his boots clicking on the polished tile flooring, he reached out with his left hand to grab the knob on the door that led out of the room and to the place he needed to go; he was just about to take hold of it, when… it began turning.

Reflexively, he drew back his hand as though something had tried to bite him and shouldered his gun, ready to blow away whatever was on the other side.

However, when a very human-looking hand slowly came around the side of the door, he slumped with relief, sighing heavily. He called out to them : "Hey, it's just me.. Smoke. Geeze, am I glad I found you…"

"Smoke…?"

He recognized this voice immediately. "Blackfire!"

He rushed over and threw the door open; sure enough, there stood Blackfire, Terra, and Jinx; all three of them looked just as relieved as he did.

Blackfire flew over and hugged Smoke's neck gratefully. "Oh, Smoke… I'm so glad we found you. Have you seen Robin?"

"Or Sub-Zero?" Jinx added curiously.

"I'm on my way now. They're just up that way… or so they told me…" He said uncertainly. "But… where's Raven…?" He asked.

"We haven't seen her. Robin said he managed to contact her, and all the others, but we haven't seen them." Terra explained. "So right now, we need to meet up with Robin and Zero."

* * *

"This really bites…"

"Well, whaddya want ME to do about it?"

"Nothin'! I'm just sayin'…"

Cyborg and Gizmo argued on as they walked down a dark corridor, Gizmo whining and Cy muttering darkly under his breath. It seems a bit of the old animosity between them still persisted, even though they were now on the same side.

"Which way are they…?" Gizmo asked.

"They contacted me earlier… said they'd subdued whatever-the-Hell had gotten in, and that they were on the fifth floor, in the big storage room."

"That means they should be…" Gizmo did some quick calculations. "… Right up that way!" He pointed with his stubby finger to a long hall in front of them.

"Right. But we still haven't found Ma—"

They were cut off mid-sentence as a very large silhouette armed with a metal baseball bat suddenly leapt from a corner, roaring and brandishing the makeshift weapon wildly. He swung…!

"Whoa!" Cy ducked just in time to avoid having his head knocked off, and came up with his cannon poised to blow away the attacker. The light from the glow of his cannon and the reflective bat combined to illuminate the two figures…

"… Huh? Giz? Cy?"

"Grr… Mammoth…"

The big guy in question dropped the bat to the ground with a loud clank and grabbed Cy in a bone-breaking hug. "Oh man, I thought you guys was goners! I haven't seen anybody yet and there were awful sounds comin' from up ahead and—"

"Erk! Uh…O-okay big guy, just… let me go… ok?" He wheezed over the brute's powerful embrace whilst Gizmo snickered and snorted with mirth in the background.

"Hey Mammoth, since when did YOU become a big whiny-baby?" Gizmo cackled, almost doubling over with laughter."

"I…Uh…" He blustered deeply. "I AM NOT!" he roared suddenly, almost making Cy's and Giz's faces flap with the force of it. "I was… Just… glad to see you, thas' all…"

"Oh, uh, it's cool…" Cy said quickly. "Gizmo was just kiddin'… weren't you?" He said almost threateningly. The diminutive genius gulped and nodded hastily.

"Good. Now let's get goin' and find the others…"

* * *

Zero sighed and rubbed his sore eye; thankfully, the slash from the katana had not actually touched his eye itself, just the outer part. It HAD, however, left a long, wicked scar… just like he'd feared. He hated Jinx to seem him like this…

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he continued blowing cold air from his hands onto the frozen assailant, keeping the ice from melting; he would, occasionally, even hose the ice down with water and then freeze it, building up additional layers of ice. In this way, he made sure their prisoner would not escape somehow.

Robin was over in a corner, looking deeply worried… his face pale and his brow furrowed pensively. The ghost, still as meek as ever, simply hovered in the corner of the room; he had tried a couple times to start a conversation, but they all seemed to be too full of thoughts to carry on one for very long at all.

Abruptly, there was a mighty knocking at the door, which had been kept locked.

Robin rushed over, grabbing a boomerang just in case, and slowly opened the door with a creepy creak.

Thankfully, the first thing he saw was Cyborg, Gizmo, and Mammoth… and now, they were joined by Beast Boy and Starfire, whom they'd found on the way.

"I'm glad you guys made it!" Robin said relieved.

Star hovered over and hugged Robin tightly, kissing him on the cheek; everyone present looked away and pretended not to notice. "Robin! Oh… I am so relieved… you are safe…"

He smiled. "Yeah. But have you guys seen the others…?"

They didn't answer right away. Instead, they all edged slowly and hesitantly towards the large block of ice in the far corner of the room, staring wide-eyed at it.

Beast Boy gulped; he was the first to speak. "… Is that…?"

"It's me." The spirit said conversationally with a polite shrug. "Or at least it was. But hopefully that lovely—ah, I mean… That girl. She might be able to help. The one with silver skin."

"Wait…" Sub-Zero suddenly bolted upright from the sofa he was sitting on, leering at the ghost almost venomously. "… Which one with silver skin did you just call lovely?" He demanded.

It took him a moment to remember the name, seeing as how he was more than a little unnerved by Zero's glare. "Uh… Raven! Yes, Raven. I don't remember the other's name."

"Oh… Ok then." He said and flopped back down onto the couch silently, his scarred eye twitching slightly.

The spirit shifted uncomfortably and hovered over to Robin… "Was it something I said…?" He asked softly.

The boy wonder chuckled slightly. "Jinx, the other one with silver skin…" He explained, "… Is his girlfriend."

As though on cue, the door opened again, and in stepped Terra, Jinx, Blackfire, and Smoke, one by one; they breathed a sigh of relief to see everyone in one place again.

"Has anyone seen Raven?" Robin asked urgently once they were in, and he'd locked the door back.

"No…" Jinx answered as she gently used a wet towel to wipe off Zero's scarred eye. He sighed and slumped limply down, further onto the couch. She continued: "We haven't seen her. But she's on her way, isn't she…?"

"I contacted her via communicator." He confirmed. "She said she was coming, but… she's the only one missing… isn't she?"

He looked around, taking a quick headcount. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Terra, Blackfire, Jinx, Sub-Zero, Smoke, Gizmo, Mammoth… that was everyone. Except Raven…

"I'll go find her!" The ghost volunteered. "I can get around more quickly than you can… no offense, you understand, but I can walk through walls and such."

"If you can find her…" Robin said with a grateful nod, "Then… we'd appreciate it. She shouldn't be too far away…"

"Right! I'll go and find her then; won't be long…" He disappeared without a trace, abruptly blinking out of sight.

Once he was gone, everyone looked to Robin. Star was the first to notice his grave expression. Her emerald eyes widened uncertainly.

"Robin…" She walked over slowly, almost fearfully. She put an arm on his shoulder. "Dear Robin… does something… trouble you?"

He looked into her face, then looked over at everyone else. He seemed almost as if he was reluctant to speak, but then…

"Star… there's a lot of explaining I have to do, if what Zero has said is correct. But… we better wait for Raven. This… concerns her most of all."

Star seemed even more alarmed. "… But… I do not understand! What is it?"

Sighing heavily, Robin leaned over and whispered something into her ear…

"… _Trigon_…"


	6. Chapter Five

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, at all._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Five**_

"Hello…? Hello?" A young, ethereal tenor voice echoed through the dark halls of Titan's Tower, still under some strange blackout; Cyborg was working on it, but the power still hadn't been restored. The darkness was broken only by the occasional moonbeam or star-speckle from a window.

A moment later, the corridors were illuminated as the young spirit floated past, in search of a certain sorceress. "… Um… Raven…? Raven? Are you here?" He called out softly; there was, however, no answer. He looked around a bit and shook his head.

'She must be here somewhere…' The ghost thought, scratching his ectoplasmic head. "Please… your friends need to speak with you urgently!" He called. "And… I need some help, too…" Still, there was no reply. All was silent.

Sighing heavily, he floated on to continue his search, wondering where she could be. He'd already searched this floor, and a couple others as well. She was supposed to have already been on her way to meet up with the others, but… they'd yet to see any trace of her.

This girl was his only hope. She seemed to be the only one among them who might be able to give him back his life…

But then again… what was he going to do with it? The question haunted him, and he did not know the answer. If this girl, Raven, could use her magic to purge the demon from his body and get him back into it… what then? Where would he go? What would he do? …Why?

His mind spun and his spectral head seemed to be splitting. He wasn't even supposed to be alive. He shuddered a bit, even though he was a ghost, at the memory of what had taken place days before…

* * *

Fire. That had been the first thing he'd seen. He'd awoken, as though from some deep sleep, dressed in the same garbs as his body now wore, with his weapons at his side; despite his nature, he seemed to know how to use them very, very well… perhaps he was a warrior in life, but he didn't remember.

He'd awoken to fire. He remembered getting up from a large stone slab, and looking around; he seemed to be looking at Hell itself. Stretched before him had been nothing more than a red wasteland, as far as the eye could see, with a combination of smoke and strange, blood-red fog obscuring his view. Craggy rocks stabbed into the air and created a series of intertwining tunnels and walkways above a literal sea of lava and, to his horror, something that seemed like blood.

Wandering around, horribly afraid, he'd thought surely this was some nightmare he'd wake up from at any moment, but… within a few minutes he'd noticed something even more disturbing.

… Who was he? Why was he? What was he? He certainly didn't know. No memories, no purpose, no identity; he was lost, and he trembled at his own ignorance.

Then came the voice. As he backed himself into a corner and curled up with fear in the shadow of a large rock, the voice had come to him, mighty and cruel in its tones. He covered his ears desperately and pressed his head to the barren, sandy ground in a desperate attempt to block it out, willing himself not to hear it and struggling not to scream with fear. It was no use, however, because the voice wasn't coming from outside, rather, it was coming from within him; it roared and snarled into his head, warbling and fading in and out like some omniscient, terrible echo.

"You are the one who once was and shall be again…"

"You are the agent by which the Earth shall be shrouded in shadows and its protectors vanquished."

"You are the reaper, who shall wash the mortals clean from the Earth in a shower of blood and bring the mortal world to its knees before me."

"You are the servant who will fetch my disobedient daughter for me."

"You are the chosen one."

It was once voice, to be sure, but it seemed like a thousand, each of them bellowing and growling in an attempt to drown out the others and make its message heard. Shaking and moaning, the boy curled on the ground, willing himself to awaken from this nightmare world, remember who he was and why he was, and to find himself safe in his normal world.

"I have resurrected you, and your life is in my debt. You WILL do as I say; you WILL obey me!"

The awful voice filled his heart with terror and he squeezed his eyes shut with a small groan. But then, seemingly against his will, they fluttered open again. It was apparent that both eyes were unusual. Over his left eye, the boy wore an old-fashioned monocle; its Western design clashed with his black trench coat and the red ninja suit underneath, which both seemed very Eastern in appearance, along with his Japanese-style sandals. His silver gloves, with the fingertips cut out, covered his darkly tanned hands, and his hair was jet black. The bangs were down so that they almost covered his right eye.

His right eye was, as I have said, strange in its own way. It looked quite normal, except for one thing: cataracts. As anyone knows, cataracts sometimes develops in one's eye and impedes vision; the boys was so bad that it covered his right eye and made it rather monotone, with no color to it; it seemed just like white-on-white. The pupil and iris were visible, so his eye wasn't just a white sphere, but they… had no color. They were bland and blended into the rest of his eye. He was obviously blind in that eye…

His skin was smooth and very darkly tanned; he looked to be no more than seventeen or so, a young man. His hair was jet black and had a very slight sheen to it, as though it was almost reflective. It was medium length and combed neatly back, with one lock of jagged bangs hanging slightly over his blind eye. The normal eye, wearing the monocle, was a deep chocolate brown.

Just as the voices faded, and he was beginning to breathe more easily, something else happened. It started out small: the pebbles on the rocky ground began shaking and pattering about on the ground, as though there had been a slight tremor. Then, the ground itself started shaking forcefully, like an earthquake. The boy panicked, scuttling behind a large rock and grabbing onto it for dear life. The shaking was suddenly accompanied by a sizzling, hissing noise; it was as if something was frothing and churning with a sickening bubbling sound.

With a clearly audible gulp, he peered out from behind his rock and stared with fright. The 'ocean' of bloody lava (for that's what it seemed to be) was, indeed, boiling and splashing with violent power. A noise, deep and powerful, seemed to rise from it… moans. As he listened, moans seemed to be coming up from under the foul red ocean; there was a cacophony of them: shrill, deep, pitiful, angry, pained, scared, loud, soft… a strange, dissonant symphony of human misery.

Then, all suddenly became silent. The horrible sea was still again, and the Hellish air was silent.

… But then, with no warning whatsoever, a geyser of flames, the size of an office building, exploded upward with a mighty roaring that echoed across the demonic wasteland; it was agonizing to behold, yet even worse to listen to. He shut his eyes with a badly startled yelp and dropped to the ground, shaking violently.

The roaring was changing… it was laughter now… ignoring all of his common sense, ignoring all of his (considerable) intelligence, ignoring all of his basic instincts, he opened his eyes to look… and screamed.

The creature that stood before him was at least seventy-five feet tall; he was red and humanoid, save for the unnatural amount of muscle and his huge, sharp set of antlers. A foursome of fierce, glowing, reddish-yellow eyes glared down upon the boy, who was like an ant to the monster, and seemed to slice into his very soul; chills ran down the boy's spine even as he sweated. The long mane of white hair that ran down the demon's back flowed wildly in a tempest of hot, sandy air, all around his terrible fanged and tusked head and his huge pointed ears. He raised his arms up and almost seemed to glow with evil energy; he laughed again and it seemed to consist of all the world's malice, and lust, and anger, and evil. The poor young man down below almost fainted at the sound, yet some bizarre force willed him to remain awake. With an animalistic glower, the huge demonic monster spoke in a loud, booming growl, like a warbling rumble of thunder.

"… You will go to the mortal Earth for me, and you will retrieve my Raven; you will not fail me!"

There was only dead silence following this…

As terror welled up again inside of him, the boy's tongue seemed to go numb and useless… yet… something else was there too: anger. Defiance. Who was this foul creature? What right had he to tell him what to do?

As his mind told him to stay down, his heart said something entirely different; he chose his heart. Slowly, deliberately, he swallowed the lump in his throat and stood up. With a metallic glimmer, he drew the golden katana at his side from its sheath and glared up at the monster through his monocle. Even as his voice trembled and cracked with fear, he spoke.

"… Never."

Enraged, the monster swung a huge, clawed fist down and the boy screamed. Then…

… Everything went black…

* * *

With a mighty shudder, the spirit continued on and tried to block all thoughts of the disaster from his mind.

His mind was now made up; if he got his body back, he'd get out of here. He would flee from this place, find some isolated spot he could call his own, and never return. He never wanted to face that creature again…

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of something rustling in the corridors up ahead. He tensed up and his ghostly eyes, one with a spectral monocle and the other blind, went very wide. He gulped. Something was… up ahead.

He made no noise, which was very easy considering he was a ghost and was already very stealthy in the first place. Slowly, hesitantly, he moved forward and approached the rooms ahead.

He went through several and saw nothing at all… but soon, he heard something else, along with the same rustling as before.

"It's not him… It's not him… It's not him…" A small, gravelly (but feminine) voice was repeating softly.

'… Raven…?' The ghost wondered. Slowly, he peeked into the room and looked around.

At first, he noticed absolutely nothing. But after a moment, a bit of movement caught his eye, over in the farthest opposite corner of the room before him.

There she was; it was Raven. She was sitting in a chair, with her head in her hands as though with worry or grief. A large dusty book was propped up against the chair, and she seemed to be murmuring to herself.

"It's not him… can't be; he's dead…" She was saying softly, though her legs shook slightly as if with nervousness. She was drawn up and almost curled in the chair, with her legs tucked under her.

Relieved, he smiled and approached her. "Raven!" He exclaimed, pleased to have found her.

This was a bad move on his part.

Instantly, as if by reflex, she gasped loudly and jerked back in her chair, almost falling out. She held her hands out as though to ward off some hostile force and shouted. "No! Go away!"

Startled, he flinched back and stared. "Please, calm yourself! It's only me." He said soothingly, reaching out a spectral hand and putting it on her shoulder.

She turned and looked at him, breathing hard and heart pounding almost loudly enough to be audible, and her wide eyes were startled and also puffy and swollen. Had she been… crying?

This state lasted only for a split second, however.

All traces of vulnerability or distress instantly disappeared, and she turned her back to him.

"What the Hell are you trying to do?" She demanded with a stammer. "Trying to give me a heart attack?" She sounded badly flustered.

He flinched back and looked ashamed. "I'm very sorry… I was only…"

"What were you thinking?" She interrupted hotly. "Don't you know how to knock?" She asked, blatantly ignoring the fact that the door had been open already.

Silently, the spirit turned his back and started sinking into the floor, dimming and disappearing, a forlorn look on his white face. Almost instantly, Raven regretted her harsh words and felt like a bitch.

"Look, I… I'm sorry. Don't go…" She said after a minute.

Perking up a little bit, he reemerged with a look of apologetic shame on his face. "I'm very, very, very sorry. I just meant… that…" He couldn't seem to get the words out and appeared to have been genuinely frightened by Raven's outburst, making her feel all the guiltier.

"Just… what is it?" She sighed finally.

"Your friends sent me to come look for you." He said after a moment. "I need… er, I mean, they need… ah, that is WE need your help. Everyone is worried about you…" he paused. "And I really didn't mean to startle you, I just… I'm so sorry…"

"For the last time, I forgive you!" She snapped. "I was… just about to go and find them; I was just taking a little break…" The witch lied, turning to face him but keeping her eyes—upon which tear streaks were visible—hidden behind her dark hood.

"Then… shall we?" He motioned to the door and floated towards it.

They walked… or rather, Raven walked; the spirit just floated. Their way was lit by his glow, and she carried the large book from earlier in her pale hands, gripping it tightly.

"… So…" Raven started softly. "… What's your name anyway?"

He looked at her strangely over his shoulder, almost as if confused.

"You never told us." She reminded him flatly.

"I…" He seemed hesitant to answer. His eyes darted nervously, but then… he sighed softly. "I don't know."

She slowed her pace a bit, and though her stoic face didn't show it, she was taken aback. "… You… don't know your own name?"

"… I don't remember." He said wistfully. "… But… I'm sure I had one! It's… on the tip of my tongue… but…" He paused, gazing wistfully into space. "… I don't know anymore…"

Raven remained silent…

As they walked on, the silence became rather tense. Raven, as we know, isn't that much of a conversationalist and the ghost seemed to bashful and awkward to say anything for fear of angering Raven or making a fool of himself. Finally, he couldn't take the quietness any longer…

"Uhm… I really don't mean to press you, but… do you think… think… you could do it? Give me my body back…?" He said slowly and hesitantly.

In response, she opened her book to a specific page and tossed it to him. He caught it in his spectral hand and looked down.

"That should tell you everything you need to know." She said nonchalantly.

He suddenly stopped. For a moment, he stared down at the page… staring blankly at the writing. Suddenly, he seemed very, very nervous. He glanced over and noticed that Raven was gazing at him curiously. He gulped and stared more, as if he hoped looking at the strange little symbols and pictures long enough would help him decipher them. He searched wildly for some excuse…

"Um… could you, Uh… read it?" He said with a fake smile.

"Its too dark." Raven said with a squint. "You can probably read it better than I can, being a ghost."

"… No really, I should let you do the honors…" He insisted, pushing the book at her.

"No, you." She said impatiently, shoving it back towards him.

"I…!" He stopped himself in time, freezing mid-sentence. She was staring at him now, and they'd both stopped in the middle of the hallway. She glared at him, partially irritated and partially suspicious.

"… You what?" She asked penetratingly.

There was an awkward pause. Then, he turned his back to her, though his transparent appearance made the gesture rather useless.

"I… I can't…" It was barely audible, but in the dead silence of Titan's Tower, Raven heard it loud and clear. And she stared in disbelief.

"You… can't…" She repeated confusedly, not quite understanding him.

"… I can't. I'm… illiterate." He whispered the word like a disease, staring pensively off into the darkness.

She dropped the book.

"… You… can't read…?" She whispered incredulously.

"Or write." He said with a slow nod, confirming it.

She picked up the book again and stared at it for a moment. And started reading off the page, squinting in the dark.

And he listened for several minutes, until she finished detailing the exact process for putting a soul (i.e. him) into a body. The spell would only work, however, if the body was alive… which was ok, since it was definitely alive enough to have almost cut a chunk out of Zero's face.

They started walking again, drawing nearer to the room where the others were holed up. But this time, as soon as they'd started off again, the silence was broken.

"… I'm sorry." It was soft and hesitant, but it was there.

The ghost looked over his shoulder in surprise. "… Hm? For… for what…?"

Raven shook her head. "Never mind… let's just… go."

They continued on their way, and, although he didn't notice… Raven seemed to walk just a little bit closer to him after that.


	7. Chapter Six

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Six**_

"Well… This has got to be the ugliest ice-sculpture I've ever seen." Beast Boy said disdainfully as he stared with pensiveness at the frozen attacker. "Is this what he really looks like?"

"Huh? '_He'_? Who's '_He'_?" Robin asked, also standing guard over the block of ice.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "The ghost! This is his body, right?" He squinted and tried to get a better look at the figure, but it was distorted due to the texture and opacity of the ice. "Y'know, come to think of it… it DOES look a little like him, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" Robin agreed. There was something about his tone of voice that suggested worry; his brow furrowed as he walked away from Beast Boy, his back turned to him.

The Boy Wonder's small green friend, actually showing some good perception for once, noticed his grim demeanor. "Hey, uh, Robin…" He hesitated. "… Is something wrong? You're pretty quiet lately, Dude."

He shook his head and sighed heavily. "No, it's just… I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"You never told us what the problem was." Beast Boy pointed out. "You just said that something big is going on."

"… I'd… Rather not talk about it until Raven gets here." He answered shakily, glancing at Starfire. She shivered and looked down because she knew what was on his mind. And she knew that it was better that the others didn't know yet.

"But why not? Has this got something to do with her?" He pursued.

Robin just shook his head silently. "… It has everything to do with her."

There was an awkward moment of silence in which neither of them was quite certain what to say. The sudden atmosphere of grave seriousness was unnerving. Feeling an urge to break the silence, Robin peered into the next room where Cyborg was crouched near some power equipment with some tools.

"Hey Cy… any progress on getting the power back on?" He asked.

The mechanical teen groaned and banged his large fist on a piece of machinery. "Nope. I still haven't figured out why it went off in the first place! I mean…" He scratched his metallic head. "… Everything seems to be in working order except… well, except the lights are off! I don't understand it at all…"

Sub-Zero, who was still lying on the couch with Jinx sitting nearby, opened his eyes and spoke up. "… Maybe it's not an error with the Tower."

Cyborg blinked his one organic eye. "… Huh? What do you mean?"

He glanced at Jinx, who was asleep in her chair, and continued quietly. "Well… Could it have been supernatural in nature?" He asked bluntly. "… I'm starting to wonder if it had something to do with our 'friend' there…" He said, narrowing his scarred eye at the assailant-on-ice.

Cy nodded thoughtfully. "… Yeah, it's possible. I guess that's the only plausible explanation."

Starfire, sitting in the far corner of the room with Blackfire and Smoke, shivered. "… I hope that whatever it was, it will lose its effectiveness soon. This darkness is most unnerving…"

Part of what was giving Starfire the creeps, however, was the simple fact that a particularly evil and powerful demonic entity, whom they thought they'd killed once and for all, was apparently making a comeback; namely, it was Trigon. Starfire had been the only one that Robin had told. The others were still out-of-the-loop as far as it was concerned. She wasn't sure why'd he'd chosen to tell her, but she almost wished that he hadn't…

"And I'm sure as Hell not going out of this room to look for a flashlight." Blackfire added after the silence ensuing Star's comment. "… This really gives me the creeps."

"Don't worry about it, Babe." Smoke said, puffing out his chest impressively. "Any spooks show up and I'll pump 'em full of so much ammo, they'll be crapping metal for a week!"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Uh… I hate to spoil your sunny disposition, but… since when can you shoot a ghost?"

"Heheh…" Smoke chuckled in a rather self-satisfied manner. "… I read too, you know. And I read in one of Jinx's books once that all sorts of evil or undead critters have sort've a weakness to silver. Y'know… werewolves, vampires, zombies, and… even ghosts."

Blackfire blinked. "Ok… but what does that have to do with—"

He cut her off by holding up his hand for silence. "Simple." With a flick of his hand, he grabbed his shotgun, newly enhanced with seven barrels, and opened it up to show the shells loaded into it. "These are special shells. The buckshot they're filled with is made out of 100 silver. Meaning that even ghosts, or any other critter of the night, is subject to ass-kicking."

"Wait a minute…" Robin's masked eyes narrowed. "… Is THAT what happened to all that spare silverware?"

Before Smoke could think up a fast excuse, something else saved him Robin's annoyance. There was a slight stirring near the middle of the room as Jinx shifted in her chair. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she stretched with a drowsy yawn. "Did somebody say my name…?"

"Oh, Sorry about that." Smoke said quickly. "I was just saying how I read one of your books a few days ago because I was really bored and had nothing else to do, and about how dark creatures are really weak when it comes to silver and how that inspired me to make some silver shotgun ammo just in case." He said very quickly without stopping, with a casual, conversational tone.

Jinx blinked, slightly overwhelmed by this rush of information. Her brain managed to process it all after a second, though, and she nodded. "Well… although I don't normally say this, that was good thinking on your part. I guess everyone has their moments…"

Smoke rolled his eyes. "Well, Excuse me. Am I not allowed to be prepared? When you NEED it, and don't HAVE it, you sing a different tune." He growled, tugging agitatedly at his overall straps and cocking the gun.

Gizmo and Mammoth, who'd been sitting against the wall keeping to themselves, looked at Smoke, then back at each other. Finally, Mammoth leaned down to Gizmo's ear and whispered: "Y'know… maybe they ain't so dumb after all. Not Smoke anyway." Gizmo giggled under his breath in response.

Smoke and Beast Boy both chuckled, as they were the only ones with good enough hearing to have picked up that sarcastic comment. The others just shrugged and thought that the pair must have just been in a good mood.

"… You can go back to sleep, if you want." Sub-Zero said suddenly to Jinx. He grinned. "You look so restful and at-peace when you sleep."

"Yeah, sorry I woke ya up." Smoke agreed with an apologetic face.

"No, that's ok. I should probably wake up anyway." She responded, stretching a bit more and yawning again. "… My legs are asleep."

Zero smiled and laughed softly. "Just walk around the Halls a bit. The feeling will come back in a minute or two."

Jinx shuddered. "No way. I'm not leaving this room. God only knows what's still out there… even if we caught this guy, there could be… other things…" She stared pensively out the small window in the door. The Hallway beyond was pitch-black, and strange noises could occasionally be heard. Though the noises were really only normal things like crickets, the wind, and the noises of the nearby city, the situation and the dark tower made them seem unearthly; the honking of a distant car could so easily seem like the grunt of a nearby beast. The chirp of the nighttime crickets could so easily sound like some haunting whisper echoing into the tower. The wind almost seemed an anguished moan from the very air around them…

Zero gazed at her with concern. "Well… Are you sure? I could go with you…" He offered. "I could use some exercise, too; maybe we'll find Raven and… him…" He said slowly, referring to the ghost.

Jinx thought for a moment. While she contemplated the idea, she spoke thoughtfully. "You know, we really need to come up with some sort of name for our ectoplasmic friend out there. I mean… all this '_he'_ and '_him'_ gets confusing.

Robin thought for a moment. "Well… how about…" He scratched at his black hair. Suddenly, an idea seemed to strike him. "Why not Ghost?"

"Ghost?" Starfire asked, cocking her head.

"Yeah. I mean, it's short and simple; plus, it's self-explanatory." Robin elaborated his point further.

The Tamaranean thought for a moment, then smiled. "… Yes. Ghost is a good name, I believe. It suits him very well."

"So it's settled, then." Jinx said with a nod, clapping her hands lightly. "We'll call him Ghost."

"Good." Zero agreed. "Now… how about that walk, Darling?" He reminded her. "Just you, me, the moonlight coming into the windows, and the stars…"

Jinx blushed and turned away slightly, trying to conceal her smile. Only Sub-Zero would be able to take the most frightening of situations and turn it into something romantic. She rubbed her slender legs through her stockings; they ached from lack of use…

…Neither of them noticed everyone else in the room either concealing laughter, sweat-dropping anime style, or rolling their eyes…

"… Sure. Why not?" She purred with an impish smile, helping him up from the couch.

They took each-other's hands and strode out the door, the heavy thumping of his boots and the clicking heels of her boots mingling into a single sound and then fading to silence as they walked off.

Beast Boy snorted and looked at Robin. "Sheesh, Dude. They're almost as bad as you and Star!"

If the shapeshifter hadn't been so quick-of-reflexes, he would've taken a Bo Staff to the head right then and there.

* * *

Raven groaned impatiently. How much farther could it be?

She stamped along sullenly, gripping her spellbook tightly to her chest as she walked while the spirit led the way, hovering a few feet ahead of her while emitting a white glow that lit the way.

"Is it much farther now?" She asked with a sigh.

"Not too far." He said cheerfully. "We ought to be there in a couple minutes. I'm sure your friends are anxious to see you. They were very worried when I left them."

She huffed indignantly. "I'm a big girl. I can handle myself, so they shouldn't be too worried about me."

"Of course. But that's what friends are for, yes?" He said in the same tone, with a polite smile.

She stared. "… You know… for someone who's recently been brought back to life and sucked out of their body, condemned to be a wandering spirit unless they can get their body back… you're pretty happy."

He shrugged and smiled. "I suppose I have an optimistic disposition, as it were. I try to look on the bright side of things. For instance: once I'm back in my body, fully alive again, I can… well, do whatever I want. I won't have to linger around this tower for the rest of my life."

"What's so bad about the Tower?" Raven demanded softly, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing at all! I didn't mean it that way; forgive me… it's just that…" He paused, trying to gather his thoughts and Raven actually laughed.

He blinked. "What is it?"

"Well… for someone so eloquent, you get tongue tied very easily, don't you?" She said dryly.

"Well, I must admit… conversation is not my strong point. And I tend to ramble unless someone stops me… I think it is usually better, just to not say anything at all unless needed."

Raven sighed and furrowed her brow. "… I think I know what you mean. I don't really talk much unless I have too either."

He smiled. "Yes. But I believe that small green chap more than makes up for your silence, yes?"

Raven laughed aloud, something she didn't normally do. When she caught herself, she clapped a hand over her mouth and forced herself to stop. "Ah, yeah… Beast Boy? He just doesn't seem to know when to shut up." She muttered, slightly embarrassed over the outburst of mirth.

"Indeed. He certainly seems the talkative type. Eh, but I'm not one to talk… I don't say much, but when I do, I have a hard time stopping."

"I think he has hyperactivity of the tongue." Raven said in an irked tone. "Whenever he opens his mouth, he just can't seem to stop words from coming out."

"Yes." He nodded simply. "… Still, at least he's a pleasant sort."

She eyed him doubtfully. "You must be a lot more tolerant than I am."

Ghost was silent for a moment, but then sighed and added. "Well… I must admit… he does grate on the nerves at times, doesn't he? I haven't been around him very long, and yet… that facet of his personality has already become abundantly clear."

Raven stopped in her tracks and stared at him with a slightly stunned expression.

Concerned, he stopped as well and turned to face her. "Hm? Is something the matter, Raven?"

She shook her head and eyed him with that same, strange expression. Finally, she spoke to him. "… How do you do it?"

He blinked. "Do… what?"

"You can't read, right?"

"Well… No. I can't. Why do you ask?"

"… Because my friends _can_ read, and you still seem to have a lot bigger vocabulary than they do."

He blushed, though his ethereal form made it more of a silvery color than red. "Well, I'll admit… I don't mean to boast, but my etymologic knowledge is quite formidable and my vocabulary is rather voluminous." He said very quickly with a smile.

There was an awkward pause.

"… Did you do that on purpose?" She asked in a deadpan tone, staring at him dryly.

"… Yes. Did you understand it?" He asked in a tone of amusement.

"… Of course I did!" She said defensively.

"Really? Splendid! It's great to have an intellectual equal to talk to…" He beamed with pleasant surprise.

She stared for a moment, and then smiled back. "… Yeah. I guess it is. But I warn you: Once we find the others, you'd better tone down the sentence complexity a little. Beast Boy, Smoke, and Mammoth can only comprehend so many syllables at once." They both had a good laugh.

At this point, they came to a turn in the Hallway. Just as they stepped around the corner, a sudden barrage of strange noises came to their ears.

There was a soft, moan that sent chills up their backs (even Ghost's, whose back was nonexistent.), accompanied by a series of rhythmic grunts that sounded like they were coming from an animal. This continued for a moment and then, there was a low cry, like the scream of someone who was trying not to make too much noise.

They both froze mid-laugh and stared. It was coming from the room next to them. Slowly, but simultaneously, their heads turned to look.

"… Don't move. I'll check it out." Ghost said quickly, and before Raven could object, he hovered into the wall and disappeared from sight.

… There was a minute in which nothing happened except that Raven stood there staring nervously and listening to the sounds.

Suddenly, Ghost re-emerged from the wall and became fully visible again. He looked strangely amused but startled at the same time, and he was blushing heavily. "… Well… THAT was certainly more than I bargained to see."

"… What is it?" Raven asked impatiently.

He stared. "Actually, it's probably better that you don't know." He said with a wry smile. "Now come on, let's give them some privacy." With that, he floated off towards the room where the rest of the Titans were.

Raven stood there, not really getting it. But a moment later, her mind clicked and she stared incredulously at the wall before shaking her head and following Ghost with a couple of 'Tsk Tsk' sounds under her breath. She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "I should've known…"

* * *

Everyone in the room turned to look as the door suddenly swung open and Ghost and Raven moved through.

"It's about time." Robin sighed with relief. "Did you guys meet up with Zero and Jinx? I think they went for a walk, but they haven't come back yet."

Raven blinked bemusedly. "… Right… Walk… Uh, nope, haven't seen them."

The Boy Wonder sighed. "That's ok. They'll find their way back sooner or later."

"Certainly, but eh… they may be a while. So if you're going to make an announcement, now's the time." Ghost suggested.

"Why would they be a while?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Uh… well… They could have… gotten lost." He finished lamely, not wanting to go into more detail.

As luck would have it, said pair picked that moment to walk in the door, both of them smiling widely.

"… Or not." Ghost added.

"Hey…" Zero began, sounding strangely out of breath. "… What'd we miss?"

"Nothing." Robin said with a shake of his head. "But I'm glad you're back. There's something that Star and I need to tell everybody."

Beast Boy was the first to speak. "You're getting engaged?"

"Ye-…. NO!" He yelled, going extremely red in the face. "Beast Boy, I was being serious!"

"Well… I was too." B.B. responded sheepishly. "Anyway… what were you gonna say?"

"I was going to say, that I need to speak with Raven in private. Star can tell the rest of you what's going on…"

Without waiting for a response, he took Raven by the shoulder and pulled her into the next room, leaving the others with a rather anxious-looking Starfire.

Raven stared at him angrily. "What's the big idea? You could have been more subtle…"

"I'm sorry. But… you need to know what's going on. More so than anybody else." He said grimly.

"What… what do you mean?"

"Well…" Robin sat down in a chair and appeared as though he was trying to find the right words. "… We think we've found out who was behind this attack, along with all the other murders. We think we know who's controlling Ghost's body…"

"Ghost? Is that what we're calling him now?" Raven asked dryly, trying to change the subject. Her heart was beginning to pound. She had a feeling she knew where this was going… but she hoped to God she was wrong…

"Yes… and…"

There was suddenly an uproar in the next room, mainly Beast Boy and Cyborg. Apparently, Starfire had just broken the news. The word 'Trigon' was clearly heard above the din…

"What did they say?" Raven asked sharply, eyes widening. She made as if to open the door, but Robin stood in her way. "What the Hell did they just say?" She persisted.

Robin flinched. There was no point in avoiding the subject further. "Look… it's Trigon."

In the few split seconds after he said this, one would have been able to hear a pin hit a carpeted floor.

"… You…" Her voice shook involuntarily. "… You don't know that."

"You're right; I don't. But… that's the only possible—"

"NO! It's not!" She cut him off with a shout, covering her ears.

The light bulb on the ceiling above them shattered abruptly, spraying the room with bits of glass that sizzled with black energy for a second before laying there lifelessly.

"Raven, listen to me!" Robin grabbed her left shoulder and shook it lightly. "You've got to calm down…"

"Calm down…?" She whispered. "How am I supposed to calm down? He's dead! But… he's… not…" At this point, her voice shook so badly that she wasn't making much sense.

Abruptly, she fell to her knees and put her head in her hands, yanking the hood of her blue cloak off her face. "This isn't true… It can't be… this has got to be some kind of nightmare…"

Robin was silent. He had no idea what he could say that would possible ease her suffering. Finally, he cleared his throat and said: "… We beat him once. We can do it again. And besides, we've got more people on our side this time, right?"

She looked up at him and remained silent. Then, she grabbed the spellbook she'd been toting around earlier and reached for the door. She said: "… We'd better try to help Ghost. He's not part of this… we need to get him back in his body and out of here before…" She trailed off. "… Before he attacks again."

Robin nodded. "Right."

* * *

"… If you're trying to pull one over on us…" Cyborg growled in a temper that was not typical of him. "… It's not damn funny, Star!"

She flinched and shuddered. "It is true! If you don't believe it, ask Robin. It must be Trigon. That is the only possible explanation."

"Star… Trigon is… dead…" Beast Boy said slowly. "Raven killed him, remember? You were there; you saw it."

"I know! But…" Star was too flustered to say anything else.

"I don't understand…" Sub-Zero said. "Who is… Trigon?"

As if on cue, a lightning bolt flashed outside the Tower, illuminating the room through the tower windows.

"… Trigon is Raven's father, Dawg." Cyborg explained grimly. "Except… not really in the 'home-for-Thanksgiving' kinda way…"

"How bad is this guy?" Smoke asked, his grip on the handle of his gun tightening.

"Well… imagine Satan on steroids." Beast Boy said miserably. "And that's almost it."

"I can tell you from experience that he's not a pleasant sight to behold…" Ghost said with a shudder. "Huge and red… with antlers, tusks, and a long mane of white hair."

Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at Ghost. That was almost the same description that they would have given. For a moment after his statement, there was silence.

"… Oh my God… this can't be real." Cyborg banged his fist against the wall.

Jinx shook her head. "I don't understand. Why hasn't Raven ever said anything about this before?"

"Because we beat him. Or at least… We thought we did."

"He's… a demon?" Jinx asked.

"Correct." Starfire responded. "The most awful of his kind."

"Then he probably can't be killed." Jinx said matter-of-factly. "Demons, as a general rule, are immortal. They can be severely weakened or imprisoned… but not killed. At least, not by conventional means."

"Yeah… trust Jinx on this." Gizmo added. "When it comes to the occult, she knows her stuff."

Robin and Raven re-entered the room and confirmed what Starfire had said. For several minutes, they explained to Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo, Zero, Blackfire, Terra, and Smoke what was going on. Then, Raven grabbed the book of spells and moved towards the large, but rapidly melting block of ice.

"First things first… we need to get whatever is in there out." She said.

The Titans went quiet and stared as Raven raised her hands in front of her, palms facing the block ice. She began reading aloud from the book in a strange language, her voice growing gradually louder. The thunder outside grew more intense and rain began to pour down again…

Her palms suddenly flashed with dark blue energy and strange symbols appeared in midair above the ice, emblazoned into the air with what looked like blue flames. Raven's voice shook, but she continued the incantation and strained with effort. The symbols began revolving in a circle slowly. They sped up little by little, until finally, they spun at high speeds.

Then, they abruptly crashed down in a burst of ethereal flames and sparks. The ice shattered and the body within began glowing black…

Slowly, something emerged from the mouth… the eyes… red. Red light. It streamed forth from the eyes, mouth, ears, nose, everything…

Raven began trembling as she spoke, and everyone backed away nervously.

There was a flash of lightning and a deafening bang as the room was suddenly flooded with crimson light. There was a collective cry among the Titans and everyone except Raven was knocked to the ground. She stood there, struggling and shaking against the strange force filling the room.

"… Raven… Raven… Raven…"

It was like the rumble of thunder, but… a voice. The voice of evil. Deep and grating, it echoed into the room. She tensed up, but did not back down.

"Hello… Father."

Without warning, the red light faded and everyone looked up hesitantly from their places on the floor.

Starfire, Terra, and Jinx screamed. Smoke, Zero, and Cyborg yelled out loud. Beast Boy, Robin, Blackfire, and Ghost just lay there staring in disbelief.

An apparition, humanoid in shape but spectral in nature, had appeared. It towered over them, its antlers scraping the roof. Its skin was deep-red and its four eyes flashed yellow. Large pearly-white fangs and tusks protruded from its mouth and a mane of long, white hair cascaded down its back. It wore only a jet-black cape and a pair of matching armored pants. With a devilish sneer, its eyes narrowed at Raven.

"It's been too long… Titans."

Raven scowled. "Trigon… you have no right to be here."

"I have EVERY right to be here!" He roared. "What will you do to stop me? Wish me away with some pathetic little spell? I cannot be contained forever!"

Ignoring him, Raven began reading off the book again, following the same process as before.

"You little fool. You are merely delaying the inevitable, just as you were before." Trigon snarled.

Black energy swirled around Raven as she finished her next incantation. Finally, she looked away from the book and stared intensely at him.

"… You have no right to use him. GO!" She shrieked, launching a cloud of black magic at Trigon's apparition.

There was an explsion of light, as though someone had set off a box of fireworks in the room, and a demonic scream echoed throughout the Tower. At the same time, Ghost felt himself fading out and suddenly felt a rush as though he was being pulled somewhere…

The light faded…

Smoke and Blackfire were huddled in the corner next to Zero and Jinx. Star was being helped off the floor by Robin while Beast Boy moved towards Terra and Cyborg approached Raven hesitantly… Mammoth and Gizmo walked towards Jinx to make sure she was ok, and Ghost…

Ghost had disappeared.

The figure in the ice lay on the floor. But he was not dead. His chest rose and fell with breaths… he looked the same as before, only much less menacing.

He was clad in a gray ninja-uniform with red samurai-armor over the shoulders and knees. A long black trenchcoat covered all this and an ornate purple-and-silver scabbard at his side housed a golden katana. A chain-scythe was wrapped around his waist like a belt and he wore Japanese-style sandals on his feet. His hair was jet-black, combed neatly with long bangs that almost covered the eyes. His eyes were no longer red, nor were there four of them. There were only two normal ones. Over the left eye, he wore an old-fashioned golden monocle. His skin was very darkly tanned and his frame was skinny but lanky.

Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open. The right eye beneath the monocle was brown, but the left one was completely white with only a gray iris barely visible. Obviously, he was blind in that eye. The first thing he saw was Raven standing over him…

She knelt next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"… You're free now."


	8. Chapter Seven

_Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em. _

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Seven_**

"… I'm… free?" Ghost put a hand to his face. "And I'm… solid…" He hopped abruptly to his feet, examining himself from monocle to sandals. "I can… breathe!" To make his point, he sucked in a big gulp of air and sighed.

Abruptly, a pair of massive, bat-like wings unfurled from his back out of nowhere, badly startling the Titans. He leapt into the air with joy and spun around laughing, chanting: "I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive…!" Over and over and over again…

Before anyone could comment, he flapped back down to the ground and suddenly grabbed Raven In a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Everyone winced, expecting him to be blown back by a cloud of dark magic. But… surprisingly, Raven just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no problem… Just… let go of me, will you?" She said, though she was blushing slightly.

He quickly let go and stepped back a couple steps. "Oh, Er, sorry. I was a little… overwrought there." He apologized. "But don't worry. Now that I'm back to normal, I'll just be on my merry way and—" He started, walking towards the door.

"You do not wish to stay for a while?" Starfire interrupted, sounding a bit put out. "But we are not even well-acquainted yet!"

"Well, I… I'm afraid there's not much to acquaint." He said half-heartedly. "I can't tell you my name; your guess is as good as mine. I like 'Ghost' though; it has a nice ring to it. And I hate to be-saved-from-an-eternity-as-a-spirit and run, but… after what I've seen, it's probably best if I don't linger." He added. "… Ta ta!"

With that, he abruptly melted into the ground like a gray shadow and was gone.

* * *

When Ghost emerged from the ceiling on the bottom floor, he sighed sadly. He knew that he was being pretty rude by leaving so abruptly, but… that "Trigon" was certain to come again. And he wanted to be far, far away when it happened.

For some reason, he was going to miss these people, even though he barely knew them. Robin seemed like a good friend to have, and Zero seemed like a nice enough fellow. Smoke was, truth be told, a little bit gruff and crude but still: Ghost had the feeling he had only good intentions at heart. Cyborg and Beast Boy… now there was a pair. A pity he hadn't had the opportunity to get to know them further. Blackfire and Terra, he hadn't met very long. But they had to be good people to hang around with the others. Jinx was partially responsible for helping him out, so he owed her a great debt. Mammoth and Gizmo, well… he actually hadn't spoken to them personally, and he sensed a bit of shadiness about them, but… ah well. Better to give them the benefit of the doubt. Starfire, bless her, was such a kindhearted person. He regretted having to leave so quickly; she had seemed disappointed.

'She must be fond of company.' Ghost thought to himself.

Ghost walked down the stairs to the main entrance into Titan's Tower, sighing. His eyes drifted around with a mildly interested expression, and he dusted off the gray-and-red ninja suit under his black trenchcoat.

"This place… is very nice." He mumbled aloud to himself. "Even better looking in the light."

Yes, the power had come back on shortly after he had been restored to his body… supporting Zero's assertion that Trigon's presence had been what caused the power failure.

He reached for the door… and his silvery-gloved hand stopped just an inch short from it. He was, for a brief moment, very tempted to stay for a little while. This place had air conditioning, heating, room to spare, home-cooked meals, and plenty of good company.

But then, he shuddered as a mental image of Trigon's monstrous form forced its way into his mind. Ghost could almost hear his sinister chortling…

No. No, he couldn't stay here. Besides, he'd only be a bother to the others.

Firmly, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the sunlight, closing his eyes. A cool breeze brushed against his face as the sunshine warmed the rest of him. It was so nice to feel sunlight for a change…

But "Murphy's Law" states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. And in this case, Ghost had barely taken a step out of the tower when…

"Halt! You are under arrest for twenty-nine counts of murder, seventeen counts of breaking and entering, and twelve counts of disturbing the peace!"

Ghost's eyes snapped open, and he stared in front of him.

There were anywhere from seventy-five to one-hundred police cars blockading the road that led from Titan's Tower to Jump City, all with lights flashing and sirens blaring, and there were twice as many heavily armed and armored police officers standing at attention pointing scoped machine guns at him.

Out in front of the line, the Chief of Police for the JCPD stood holding a shotgun and a megaphone, which he yelled into to project his voice.

"Come slowly forward with your hands in the air!" He ordered.

Ghost stared in a alarm for a moment, then did as the chief of police said. He yelled back.

"I'm sorry, old chap, but… you seem to have me mixed up with someone else, like, oh say… a murderer, perhaps?" He said with an expression of genuine innocent confusion.

"Don't get smart with me!" The chief barked over the megaphone. "Now look… give yourself up, or else we'll have to take you in by force!"

Ghost backed up fearfully. "You want me to surrender for something I haven't even done?" He demanded, aghast. "Who on Earth do you think you are?" He yelled, waving his fist angrily.

That was a mistake. The silver gloves he wore flashed in the sunlight and, from a distant, several of the police took the metallic sparkle for a gun. They opened fire with a deafening series of rapid gunshots.

Before Ghost could even react, one of the shots ricocheted off the side of his sword-scabbard with a high-pitched clink. He stared down at the sword-scabbard with wide eyes. It didn't seem to be damaged, but there was a slight blemish where the bullet had ricocheted.

He looked back up at the officers, and his mismatched eyes narrowed dangerously. "… You shot at me…!"

"Hold your fire!" The police chief yelled at the police men. Then, he sighed and turned his attention back to Ghost. "Look son, if you don't surrender within the next ten seconds, I'm going to have to give the order to take you down!"

There was silence…

"One…!" He started.

Ghost's blind eye shimmered with a strange light as it narrowed to a slit.

"Two!"

He unloosed the chain-scythe from its belt-like position and gripped it in one hand…

"Three!"

His brown eye clouded over with a strange shadowy energy…

"Four…"

Ghost drew his golden katana with a metallic hiss.

"Erm…. Five…" The chief was becoming a little unnerved. He continued. "… Six… Seven… Eight… Nine…!"

Out of nowhere, Ghost's massive black wings unfurled again, causing a collective gasp from the police forces. He glared at them with his eyes, the blind one shining with light while the brown one behind the monocle glowed with a dim, shadowy energy.

"… Ten." Snarled Ghost. And then, he was gone.

A few officers nearly dropped their weapons. Where he had been standing moments ago, there was only empty air… he'd just disappeared in broad daylight.

Everyone present looked around dumbfounded, wondering where he had gone and how he had vanished.

As they talked amongst themselves, they were suddenly aware of a shade coming over them, as though the clouds had drifted in front of the sun. They looked up…

There were no clouds. But high up in the sky, there was a figure with giant leathery wings blocking out the sun. Ghost!

"FIRE!" The chief yelled, realizing there was much more to this boy than met the eye.

Instantly there was a resounding crash as countless machine guns let fly with bullets.

Ghost hovered in place and calmly folded the black wings around himself like a blanket. There were a few pattering noises as the bullets hit his wings and bounced off harmlessly…

Without warning, he swooped downwards at high speed, his wings slicing through the air and creating a low pitched 'hum' as he flew. As he rapidly closed the distance between himself and them, he lashed out his chainscythe and flailed it around erratically with one hand.

There was a startled cry and a group of officers hit the ground, ducking to avoid an untimely decapitation. They felt a rush of cold air as he swept over them and they almost heard his scythe whirring as he lashed it around, dangerously close to their heads.

Ghost swooped up again and held out his left arm, the sleeve of his trenchcoat hanging down baggily. He yelled several words in a strangely language, possibly Japanese, and there was a sudden buzzing sound. Abruptly, a horde of black locusts with metallic red stingers swarmed from his sleeve, much like when he'd (under Trigon's control) broken into the tower.

There was a cry from the police officers as the insects set upon them, stinging, biting, scratching and otherwise assaulting them. They attempted to take refuge in the police cars, but to little effect; the bugs crawled into the exhaust pipes and emerged into the car through the air conditioners, swarming over them.

After a minute or two of this, in which about half the officers had either been stung and bitten into unconsciousness or passed out from terror, Ghost snapped his fingers. The bugs froze momentarily… and then, disappeared with a flash of silver light.

Ghost flapped down to the chief, who was hiding behind a police car cowering. He brandished the golden katana and snarled.

"Now… are you quite ready to call off this nonsense?" He asked in a strange tone that was half polite, half bloodthirsty. "Or should I summon my 'friends' again?"

The chief eyed him from the ground for a moment… then, whipped out a magnum revolver, pointing it shakily at Ghost's head. "S-Stay back! Don't come any closer.

Ghost shook with rage. With a loud yell, he lashed the chained scythe out again, and there was a flash and a metallic slicing noise.

… A moment later, half the gun fell to the ground, hacked off.

The chief began backing up frantically, but Ghost disappeared in a puff of black steam and reappeared behind him. He backed up into Ghost's legs and yelped. Before he could react, Ghost held grabbed his shirt collar and hoisted him up with one hand, despite the fact that he was a much larger man.

"Tell me…" He whispered in the Chief's face. "… Are you afraid of Ghosts?" Ghost pressed the katana to his neck threateningly.

"Don't be st-stupid!" The chief stuttered. "There's at least fifty more of us than you!"

Sure enough, the remaining conscious officers were gathering around with machine guns raised warily.

"That could easily be remedied." Ghost said venomously, shooting the officers looks that made them step back a bit… He turned back to the chief. "Why are you doing this? Why?" he demanded.

"You sick bastard!" The chief growled. "You've killed all those people! And now you're asking us why we're trying to arrest you? What the Hell's wrong with you?"

"I've killed no one!" Ghost protested, stung by the accusation.

"Don't play innocent. We've seen you on one of the surveillance cams just yesterday! We know it was you; you're even wearing those same crazy clothes!" The Chief said.

Suddenly, the whole truth rushed into Ghost's mind. 'Trigon!' he realized.

"Look…" He eased his hold on the chief. "… I think I know what's happened. And if you'll come with me, I think my friends and I can clear this up; they're just in there and—" He gestured towards the Tower.

"The Titans?" The chief seemed thunderstruck. "You're a criminal! They'd never associate with you!"

"I… am not… a criminal!" Ghost spat very softly but in a lethal tone.

"Look… come with us peacefully, and we'll contact the Titans, though I doubt it would do you any good. What do you say to that?"

Ghost's nostrils flared angrily and his eyes glowed again…

* * *

"Look, we can't start panicking now." Cyborg said to the panicked roomful around him. "That's what he probably WANTS us to do."

"I agree. If we don't keep it together, we'll never be able to fight Trigon." Robin added in support.

"But how?" Beast Boy demanded. "What if he's stronger than last time?"

"We are stronger as well." Starfire pointed out. "We have many more friends to aid us now."

"Yeah. And no matter how tough this guy is, I'm betting he's not bulletproof." Smoke snarled. "If he wants to get his damn dirty claws on Raven, he's gonna have to get past us first!"

"Here, here; well spoken!" Zero agreed heartily. "I say, if he's foolhardy enough to attack again, we'll be ready for 'im!"

"Zero, demons are not pushovers…" Jinx said softly. "… and… when he appeared… I don't know. I felt… horrible."

"I noticed you were shaking." Zero said in concern. "But… what was it? Was it because of him?"

"Look, maybe it's just because of my connection to bad luck, but… I can tell when something dark or evil is around, like Raven can. I start to feel it. And when he appeared… I don't think I've ever felt so much negative energy in one spot before."

"Speaking of which, I wonder what became of Ghost…" Zero said.

"Yeah. I mean, a guy like him kinda sticks out of the crowd, doesn't he?" Terra pointed out, running a gloved hand through her blonde hair. "What if he gets into trouble?"

"Then he's screwed." Beast Boy sighed. "He had a sword, but… he just doesn't seem like much of a fighter to me."

"Perhaps there is more to him than it seems." Starfire said sagely.

"Yeah. Just because he's a coward, talks like Shakespeare half the time, and acts like a pansy…. Doesn't mean he's defenseless." Blackfire snickered.

Raven, too much on her mind to talk right now, was just staring out the window while the others discussed; she was trying her best to clear her head. She felt so many things at once…

She was afraid. Though she tried not to let it show, she was terrified. This was a nightmare she thought she'd never have to go through again. And she was grateful, although she didn't say it. Grateful to her friends, for everything: protecting her, helping her, giving her a home…

And there was something else. It was… Ghost. She didn't know why, but… she was worried about him. Beast Boy had a point, for once; Ghost seemed like more of a thinker or a philosopher than a fighter. If anything happened….

'… Why do I feel so concerned about him? The farther he is from me, the safer he is anyway…' She told herself gruffly.

But the thought sent a sudden pain through her. She wanted to see him again. It was… nice, having someone to talk to for once. Oh sure, she could talk to the others anytime, but… he was so much more… like her. He was very intelligent, especially for someone that was illiterate and he had dark powers. She hadn't seen them, but she could sense it. When she'd banished Trigon out of his body and put him back in it, she sensed dark powers about him…

"… Like… me." She whispered to herself. She listed his qualities in her mind: 'Smart, dark powers… kind hearted… and not bad looking…' she mused to herself.

It took her a second to process what she'd just thought. And when she did, her eyes snapped open in an aghast expression.

'Oh c'mon… you know he's hot!' A small voice suddenly giggled from inside her head.

She groaned. Not these guys again…

'I can't believe you didn't ask him to stay. He was so cute!' It persisted.

Yeah, that was probably Pinky… happy Raven.

'Pft! We're better off without him anyway! Who needs 'im?' Another voice chimed in. That was most likely Green, or Brave Raven.

'I wouldn't have been able to ask him either… I… I would have st-started st-stammering, and… and…'

That one was, without a doubt, gray or Sad Raven.

'It's not that… it's just that if you consider the point from a logical view, it's better he left. We like him, so—'

'I DO NOT!' Raven thought at her "other selves" furiously.

'So…' Intelligent or Yellow Raven continued, ignoring Raven's outburst. 'It's better that he's far away, therefore less likely to get hurt. Trigon would have gone after him as well…'

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?" Raven screamed furiously…

… And then realized she had done it aloud.

Everybody in the room had, indeed, gone quiet as per request. But they were also looking at her as though they feared for her sanity.

"Uh… I… Not you, but… I was talking to…" Her faced turned a bright crimson red, though she hastily yanked her hood up to conceal it. "… Excuse me…" She finished lamely, too flustered for anything else. She got up and walked off to her room.

… At this point there were about twenty seconds of silence. Then, Gizmo gave a loud, fake cough that sounded suspiciously like the word 'Schizophrenic', prompting a few muffled guffaws from Mammoth.

Robin shook his head sternly. "… It's not funny, you guys. She's got a lot on her mind right now, I'm sure."

Nobody was quite sure what to say after this. The awkward silence needed to be broken, but they couldn't…

… Thankfully, they didn't have to; at that exact moment the chief of police came flying through the upper-floor window, shattering it, and hit the wall before sliding off slowly with a groan.

"… What… the Hell?" Was the most eloquent thing Robin could manage. He scrambled over and helped him up. "Sir! Are you alright? What—"

At that moment, there was a loud, deep flapping noise, like a giant bird. Then, Ghost hovered through the shattered window and landed in the middle of the room, his leathery jet-black wings retracting and disappearing into his trenchcoat again.

"I'm deeply sorry to bust in like this, but eh… I have a problem that needs to be rectified." He yanked his head at the chief, who scrambled behind Robin and cowered. "… Please confirm to this bounder that I have not murdered anyone."

The Teen Titans stared.

**_One Hour And Fifty Nine Minutes Later…_**

"He… destroyed most of your squad cars?" Cyborg said slowly, jaw dropping.

"He KO'd half the police force?" Terra demanded, equally in shock.

"… He summoned a swarm of demonic locusts and went invisible and melted through the ground and teleported?" Robin asked, masked eyes widening.

"Well, er… Yes. Yes I did." Ghost said slowly. "Please, I apologize wholeheartedly; I hate to be such a nuisance, but… they were being quite unreasonable. They SHOT at me!"

"That's not the point!" Robin said, dumbfounded. "Why didn't you tell us you could do all that?"

"Well, um… You never asked." Ghost said with a bemused smile.

"Wait, let me get this straight…" The chief, bandaged by Starfire with an ice pack over his right eye, which Ghost had punched, said... "… That this guy was possessed by a demon at the time of the murders so he shouldn't be held accountable."

"That is right." Starfire said matter-of-factly. "It was not his fault. The REAL perpetrator is Trigon."

"Who?" The chief asked, baffled.'

"He's out of y'all's league. That's all you need to know." Cyborg said flatly.

"Well… I guess we can let him off the hook." The Chief said hesitantly.

Everyone sighed with relief.

"… But--!" The chief started again.

"… But?" Robin asked nervously.

"But… I still want to make sure he's kept out of trouble. Even if you vouch for him, I still want to keep an eye on him… just in case."

"Please Sir, we promise he's trustworthy!" Beast Boy added.

"Be that as it may, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I want him under constant surveillance. And since he's too much for my men to handle… that means he'll be staying with You."

"What?" Robin asked.

"What?" Ghost repeated indignantly.

"…. WHAT?" A sudden yelp came from the doorway. Everyone's head turned to look, and there was Raven, who had re-entered the room just in time to hear that last statement.

There was a moment of silence, and then…

"… Raven…?" Ghost started. "Are you all right? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

* * *

"**GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH**! _I WAS SO CLOSE_!" Trigon roared back in his dimension, swinging his massive clawed hand around and toppling several craggy rocks into the pool of blood and lava below him.

He snarled viciously, blasting dark energy beams from his yellow eyes in random directions, venting his rage and stamping about in the lava, splashing into sizzling pools on the dry, barren mountain-lands of the demon dimension.

… Far below him, a dwarfish figure stood on a rock, working at what looked like a large supercomputer.

"Yes, well… The Titans ARE quite resourceful, Sir." He said. "I know. I've fought them…"

The man typing at the computer, which seemed so bizarrely out of place in the demon dimension, was about five and a half feet tall and very elderly looking. His hair was silvery-white with age and cut in a pudding-bowl style, as if someone had put a bowl over his head and shaved around it. A large, prominent beard and a mustache that stuck far out at the sides, both white also, completed his strange look.

He was wearing a white lab coat and black rubber boots and gloves, all stained with what looked horribly like blood. He continued speaking as he typed on the computer.

"Perhaps you should attack again, My Lord. Or, better yet, strategize the situation first; figure out a plan."

As he thought about it, he did something horrifying. He reached up and brushed a bit of his hair out of the way… there was long row of strange stitches on his forehead, as though someone had sawed his head open then stitched it back up. But then, he opened his head… opened the whole damn thing up as if the top was on some sort of macabre hinge… and scratched, not his scalp, but his brain…

"Oh don't worry, Doctor. I have something in mind." Trigon glowered. "Something very… heartless."

"Ooh, heartless… I like it...!" The man cackled.

**_Ok, that's that. I'm pleased that I managed to get this chapter up so quickly. I would ask "Who is this strange new man?", but the answer is probably painfully obvious to you readers already. Hey, you're smart, you can put two and two together, right? … Right?_**

**_Oh, and to Metal Overlord… I take it you're as much of a Tremors fan as I am? Heheheh…_**

**_--Count Le Madphantom…_**


	9. Chapter Eight

_Disclaimer: Attention, readers: the Titans are not mine. That is all._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Eight**_

"OK, here's all you need to know…" Cyborg began gruffly as he led Ghost down the hallway. "First and foremost: Don't touch the T-Car. Second… don't try to feed Silkie; Star's the only one who manages to pull it off without almost losing a finger. Third, if you EVER need to talk to Raven… knock. Better yet, just wait until she comes out on her own to talk to her."

"Why is that?" Ghost asked curiously. "Is she often busy?"

"Well, I dunno about that, but… she likes her privacy, Dawg, and she doesn't like to be interrupted."

"Fair enough; I can understand that." Ghost said.

There was a brief period of silence as they walked down the Hallway. Cyborg didn't seem to have any particular destination in mind; he just wandered through random twists and turns. Finally, Ghost decided to speak up and break the tense quiet.

"Er… Listen, Cyborg… I'm truly sorry."

He glanced back, surprised. "Huh? For what, Man?"

"… For putting this unnecessary burden upon you and your friends. I'm sorry… no matter how ill-mannered those police were, they were only doing their duty; I should not have reacted so rashly." He said.

Cyborg made a 'psht' sound and waved his hand dismissively. "Look, it's no problem. Truthfully, I think Star is happy you're staying anyway. She likes meeting new friends."

"I can imagine." Ghost said with a nod. He wiped his monocle on his coat and then put it back over his eye. "Erm… where are we going, again?"

Cyborg sighed in frustration and shook his head. "Well, I was looking for another empty room. We've got plenty, I'm sure, but… they're just hard to find in this huge tower. Maybe there's some spare room on the seventh floor…"

"Why don't we just go rejoin the others?" Ghost asked. "I'm sure we can worry about my lodgings later, and besides: If I'm going to be staying here, then I may as well get to know everyone a bit better…"

Cyborg tilted his head. "You're sure? I mean, I'd hate to have you sleeping on the couch."

"Believe me, friend. Anything is much better than sleeping six feet under the ground. Trigon thought bringing me back to life would be to his advantage, but… it seems his idea backfired."

"Speaking of which…" Cy said slowly. "… You… don't remember anything? Nothing at all of whom you were before?"

"Well… not… really…" Ghost said, shifting uncomfortably. "But so much the better, I'm sure. If I remembered, I might miss my previous life… but with no emotional ties or lasting memories, I can start my life anew with no psychological baggage, if you will."

Cy stared. "Uh… Ok. Whatever you say…"

"I know it's odd." Ghost sighed. "But I always try to look on the bright side of things, even if it's nonexistent."

Cy grinned. "Well… at least you're pretty cheerful. When I first saw you, I thought we might have another Raven on our hands…"

"What is wrong with Raven?" Ghost asked, sounding slightly affronted.

"Nothing, nothing!" Cy said quickly. "I just meant… well… she's not the most… positive, person in the world, y'know?"

"I see…" Ghost mumbled. "… Then again, I suppose one can hardly blame her. She has such a burden on her shoulders."

"I know." Cy agreed. "And I hate to say it, but… unless we can figure out some kind of miracle that'll get rid of Trigon once and for all… that burden might be getting a lot heavier."

There was a moment of silence. Neither of them really knew what to say.

"… Shall we… join the others again?" Ghost said, trying to bring the conversation back into more jovial territory.

"Uh, yeah… sure. Let's go…" Cy started back down the Hall, Ghost trailing closely behind.

* * *

**_In The Demon Dimension..._**

"Is the portal almost ready, Myntull?" Trigon barked down at the scientist on the ledge below.

"Yes. But it they system needs to prep itself before the main teleportation unit can boot up; then, once the generators are online, the portal should begin opening." He responded, typing furiously at a rusty computer panel.

"Well, hurry! I did not order my demons to steal all that mortal technology for nothing!"

"Please, patience sir. It will be ready to teleport your brethren soon enough." Myntull, for that was who it was brought back by Trigon's black magic, replied. "… You yourself have only the power to send very weak demons to the Earth, and only for a limited time. But with this portal, even the most powerful demons can be sent into the living world for as long as they like."

"A pity it cannot transport me." Trigon grunted under his breath, sitting down at what looked like a giant throne rising from the lava, constructed from a pile of bones the size of a cruise ship.

"Your power is much too great for the portal to contain, Sir. The only one capable of opening a portal powerful enough to carry you is Raven herself."

Trigon raised a giant red hand and examined his claws with mild interest. "Yes… if I cannot break her in the Mortal World…" He hissed, "… then my most capable demons will launch an attack on their pitiful tower. They will take her by force… and bring her back here…" His four eyes narrowed. "… Where I CAN break her."

"The cybernetic enhancements I made on your demonic legions seem to have been very effective." Myntull said, quite happy with his handiwork. "… I think you will be most pleased."

"I do not see what advantage your worldly technology can give them that they do not already possess." Trigon glowered doubtfully.

"The miniature rocket launchers I wired into their central nervous systems were far more effective than even I had surmised. The optic implants have upped their sight by as much as fifty percent, and the new armor I grafted onto their skins is bullet-proof, fire-proof, stainless, and electrically non-conductive."

"Nevertheless, at least you left Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz alone. They are more than powerful enough without your, ah… improvements."

"Yes, of course. They are your three most powerful servants, next to the Grim Reaper of course… The portal can handle sending them to Earth, but… only one at a time. Any more than that, and I suspect that it would simply shut down."

"Very well. I doubt more than one of them will be needed, if any. My minions should be able to get the job done easily." He roared loud enough to shake the surrounding landscape. "**NOW GET THAT PORTAL WORKING, MORTAL**!"

* * *

"I swear, if Smoke had to choose between me and those stupid 'toys' of his… I think he might actually pick the chainsaw." Blackfire grumbled to herself. 

Everyone was in the living room, just hanging out and talking about recent events… sans one genetically engineered gunman/inventor/wiseguy.

"Where is he, anyway?" Beast Boy asked. "And what about Cyborg, too? Cy said he'd help him find a room, then come right back."

"Yes." Starfire added, nudging Robin. "We must be most courteous to our new guest."

"Since when have I not been courteous to new guests?" Robin asked.

"Well, seeing as how you suspected Zero as a_ H.I.V.E_. spy when he first came here…" Raven said in a tone as though she were commenting on the weather.

"… That was different." Robin retorted quickly. "For all we knew, he could have been! Besides, there's no hard feelings over it… right, Zero?"

Said knight mouthed something incoherent over the mouthful of ice cream he was currently munching. He had his teal gloves off and was scooping up handfuls of the stuff in his bare hands, tossing it into his mouth. Even stranger was the fact that he had a bottle of rum nearby, taking long swigs every couple bites.

Jinx shook her head. "I've tried to tell him that ice cream and alcohol don't make a meal, but… he just won't listen." She teased as everyone else sweatdropped.

After a large swallow, Zero licked off his fingers and lips before replying: "I'll have you know this isn't my meal, thank you very much. This is just to tide me over…"

"Well, he's got a point." Blackfire said, holding her stomach. "It's dinner time and we haven't eaten yet. What's the deal?"

"The deal is we're waiting on Cyborg and Ghost." Robin said firmly. "We can't start without them."

"And Smoke too. Though I may have to eat without him." She sighed. "What is he DOING down there?"

"Ah, you know Smoke." Terra said sagely. "Always working on some kind of project or another…"

Before Blackfire could say anything else, the door opened to the kitchen. Cyborg and Ghost walked in briskly.

"Sorry we took so long." Cy apologized. "I've just been having trouble finding a room for our friend here."

"Huh? But where's he gonna stay?" Beast Boy asked.

"Please, don't worry about me. I'll find some lodging on my own, but… in the meantime, I don't suppose…" Ghost's stomach growled mid-sentence. "… that you have anything to eat?"

"You read my mind." Blackfire grumbled. "I'm going to go get Smoke, project or no project. He can work on it later."

With that, Blackfire flew out of her chair and zipped downstairs towards the garage, where Smoke's room was located.

"Man, I really hope he's got a good reason for taking so long." Cyborg snickered. "Blackfire is NOT somebody you want to piss off, 'specially when she's your girlfriend on top of that."

"My sister is simply very impatient." Star lamented. "I am sure she will not harm friend Smoke, however; she is far to fond of him to do that."

Raven shook her head. "You'd be surprised what Smoke can go through without getting hurt."

* * *

"… Smoke…? Smoke!" Blackfire banged on the door of his small room in the garage. "I know you're in there! Do you not realize it's dinner time? Come on!" 

… There was no answer.

Blackfire stared, eyes widening somewhat. She leaned closer to the door and spoke a bit more softly. "… Smoke? Smoke?"

Still, no sound from within.

Concerned, she reached for the door… but when she began to turn the knob, it clicked stubbornly and would not budge. The door was locked.

Starting to freak out slightly, Blackfire hollered in. "Smoke! Smoke, please answer me! Are you alright?"

The room behind the door was still silent.

Taking a deep breath, she gave the door a shove… and it creaked dangerously. She pushed again, making more noise, but still, it did not move. Finally, fed up, she snarled and banged it hard with her elbow. The door bashed inwards with an echoing slam, and she hovered inside.

The room was dark and silent.

She reached hastily for the light switch. Upon turning it on, she shielded her eyes for a split second against the abrupt flood of illumination, and then scanned the room anxiously. She had to hold in a scream.

Smoke was slumped over in a painful looking position at his workbench, clutching his hand… which had a large, wicked-looking white dart with a needle on the tip sticking from it.

She flew over so fast that the posters tacked to the walls flapped and billowed, and she bent down and placed a hand to his neck.

_… Thump… thump… thump…_

His heartbeat was there, loud and clear.

"Oh… Thank X'hal…" She moaned softly, her worry alleviated somewhat.

She yanked the dart from his hand and tossed it aside. Then, she grabbed his shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Smoke… Please… wake up…" She pleaded softly, eyes flickering violet with worry.

For a moment, nothing at all happened. Then, there was a slight groggy groan from his lips, and his golden-hazel eyes spread open. He blinked dazedly.

"Urgh… Black…fire…?"

"Yes! Please, what happened? There was—"

"Oh… Now I remember." He yawned, cutting her off. He managed a weak smile. "I'm so sorry if I had you worried, but… it's ok. I just… had a little mishap."

She stared. "Mishap?"

He nodded. Bending over again, he fumbled around on the ground for a moment. Then, he grabbed something in his fist and held it up for her to see.

There in Smoke's hand was what looked like a very large pistol made of shining blue metal. On top, there was a large scope with a magnifier and crosshairs attached. The whole thing was sleek and shiny from one end to the other, and on the very front, there was a short, stubby muzzle with a syringe-shaped dart loaded in.

"This… is my new Injector." Smoke yawned proudly, scratching his head.

"Injector… like a dart gun?" Black asked suspiciously. "Is THAT what you've been working on down here?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Think about it… when it comes to darts, the possibilities are endless! Tranquilizers, poison darts, electric darts, exploding darts… but eh, when I was testing out the tranquilizer… I seem to have accidentally shot myself in the hand. And that's the last thing I remember…"

It took Blackfire a moment, to process everything she'd heard. Then, she scowled with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

"Dammit Smoke! Do you know how worried you had me?" She demanded.

His smile faded and he sat the injector down on the table.

"I… Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, it's just that… I got a little clumsy. Don't be mad at me… please?" He said, eyes pleading in a display of emotion that was strange coming from Smoke.

She smiled slightly and hugged him. "I… I'm not really mad, It's just… when I came in… I saw you like that… I was so scared. I thought you might be…be…" She couldn't quite finish the sentence.

"Dead?" He sniggered. "Nah! Takes more than a little dart to ice the One Man Army, Baby!" He said, brushing back his hair and puffing out his chest impressively.

"Oh really?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "Well, Mr. Army, you're being called to the Mess Hall. Dinner's ready, and we've all been waiting on you."

As if on cue, his stomach rumbled fiercely.

"All right! I could use something to eat after that…"

* * *

Once they'd arrived in the kitchen and Cyborg had started serving up dinner—which consisted of meatloaf, salads, soup, and a large blueberry pie—Everyone began asking Ghost various questions, most of which he didn't know the answer to; he did, however, manage to give them a little info about himself. 

"So you have no idea who you used to be? Or where you're from?" Terra asked sadly.

"No… but… I'm wearing these ninja garbs, and I'm fluent in Japanese, so I suspect that's where I'm from." He answered, taking a bite of meatloaf. "I say, this stuff is quite refreshing… delicious!"

"Thanks!" Cy said, scratching his head. "Made it m'self."

"Then you're a very skilled culinary artist." Ghost complemented. "… Or Chef, for Beast Boy." He added, prompting laughter around the table.

"Yeah, yeah… laugh it up." He grumbled, eating his salad.

Raven tried to hide it by wiping her mouth with a napkin, but… she was actually smiling. Beast Boy thought he was funny, and, truth be told, he sometimes was. But… Ghost had an even better sense of humor…

'Ooh, he's so dreamy…' Pink Raven sighed.

Raven choked on her food slightly. She scowled. 'What do I have to do to get rid of you guys?' She demanded mentally.

'Oh come on, don't you at least think he's a LITTLE attractive?' Her happy self asked incredulously.

'… No.' Raven said flatly in her mind.

'It's no good lying, you know. We're YOU, after all.' The ever-analytical yellow Raven pointed out. 'I mean, let's be honest… he's everything you could want. Smarter than Beast Boy, more powerful than anyone here… probably, anyway… and very nice. Personally, I like his monocle…'

'You would.' Raven shot back dryly.

'He kicks ass; you have to give him that much.' Green Raven said approvingly.

'And he's so polite tender-hearted, even if he has a little temper problem. I bet deep down, he's a really sweet person.' Gray Raven commented softly.

Raven was fed up. 'Didn't you idiots learn anything from Malchior?' She demanded quietly in her head.

All the voices in her mind simultaneously went dead silent.

She narrowed her eyes. 'That's what I thought. He was all that, too. And look what he turned out to be. Yes, Ghost is nice… yes, he's smart. And he's capable of taking care of himself. But… that does NOT mean I have any kind of attraction whatsoever to him…'

She could almost feel their doubtful gazes.

'And… even if I did…' She added, flushing slightly. '… I should know better by now. I can't get too attached to anyone. Not even my friends…'

They didn't say anything more for the rest of the meal.

Mammoth ate a near panfull of meatloaf in one bite, and asked over a mouthful. "So where are you plannin' on goin' after the chief lets you outta here?"

"Oh, I don't know." Ghost said softly. "… Someplace nice, quiet, isolated… somewhere I can just relax. A shack by the sea, perhaps… and first of all, I'm going to have to learn how to rea—"

He froze mid-sentence. Raven knew why. She was the only one who knew he couldn't read or write…

"How to what?" Starfire asked.

"Learn… how to… ride a bicycle." He said lamely, not able to think up anything else.

Everyone stared.

"What? It's quick, efficient, inexpensive travel. Plus, it keeps me in shape. And I can't FLY or TELEPORT everywhere in public. I daresay they would find it a bit… unnerving."

Just as Ghost finished his meal of soup and pie, there was suddenly a noise that suggested all Hell had broken loose, and the Tower lights began flashing and blaring with red lights and sirens.

"The alarm… something's wrong." Robin said quickly. He ran to check it out, everyone else hastily abandoning the emptied dinner plates to follow him.

They made their way to the old communications room, where the alarm was the loudest. Robin jogged over to a panel that was flashing 'Audio Linkup Requested.' He nodded to himself and pressed a few buttons and switches.

Suddenly, garbled static and white noise began erupting from the speakers. But beneath it all, there were sounds of screaming, gunfire, and… strange, screeching roars. A panicked voice, warped and distorted by the poor quality of the signal, yelled out across the radio.

_"Mayday, mayday, this is the JCPD HQ! Radioing all secondary stations and Titan's Tower, Mayday! Something's here! We're dropping like flies, here; immediate backup requested! Monsters! They're coming through portals all over the city! Monsters in…"_ There was a pause, in which the radio crackled and fizzed Then…_ "No… No! NOOOAAAAAAAARRRGH!"_

...The hissing sounds of sparks were heard, and then the radio went dead...

**_Well, Trigon's invasion has begun, though he still can't make it in person. What exactly are Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz? You'll see. And keep an eye out because next chap is going to be one of the biggest fight scenes I've ever done. But not everything may go smoothly... in particular, someone might go from 'armed and dangerous', to just 'dangerous', if you catch my drift. If not, then don't worry because you'll find out._**

**_Thanks to EVERYONE who's reviewed so far. It's really what keeps me going; in particular, thanks to ZK Chromedragozoid, whose awesome fiction I regret I don't have enough time to read much, Metal Overlord, Hotspot, Krow, and TwilightSoulTaker, who review so constantly and helpfully._**

**_P.S. Metal Overlord, I sent you some E-mail at the address in your profile regarding some fiction ideas. Did you ever get it? Just curious, my friend. And don't worry, Zeruge is going to be in this for sure. I just have a lot of ground to cover first, so his appearance may be later in the writing. _**

**_Anyway, I'll do my best to update soon!  
_**

**_--Count Le Madphantom..._**


	10. Chapter Nine

_Disclaimer: I've got no ownership whatsoever over the Teen Titans._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Nine**_

The remnants of the police base were a clear sign that something was definitely wrong. Bloodstains and strange symbols, carved in claw marks, covered the walls. The lights flickered and very little, if any, electrically powered equipment worked. In every room, furniture was overturned and debris was everywhere. The floor was covered in ashes and the ceiling was coated by scorch marks.

Upon arriving, the Titans—who had come in the T-Car and Desparado, Smoke's humvee—elected to split up and take finding any survivors as first priority.

Robin held his Bo staff in one hand and a flashlight in the other as he cautiously made his way through the dark halls of the station. The place was quiet, except for the occasional hiss of flames nearby or the whirr of still-operating machinery. His only reassurance was the rhythmic tapping of his own footsteps against the worn floor.

"I don't get it… where is everyone?" He muttered crossly to himself. It would have taken a seriously formidable force to even launch an assault on the station, much less defeat everyone in it.

"Hello…?" He called down the Hallway, hoping for some response. But the only response came in a dozen other echoing Robins shouting the same thing back…

He sighed and continued to press on, searching for anyone who might be able to clue them in on what was going on…

Robin reached for his Titans communicator, switching it on. "Hello? This is Robin. Anybody having any luck? Have you found anyone?"

"Well, if you mean found anyone alive, no…" Smoke sighed over the intercom. "… If you mean alive or otherwise, yeah, I've found plenty… or what's left of 'em…"

"Keep looking. What about the rest of you?"

Starfire chimed in after a moment of static. "I have not been successful in locating any living survivors, but… Robin, I am hearing things." She said slowly.

"What? Hearing things…?"

"Yes. There seems to be no one present, but… I constantly am hearing bizarre sounds. I think that we are not alone…"

"Are you alright? Do you need someone to come find you?" Robin asked quickly.

"No, I am all right. I merely hope we can leave soon…"

There was another brief moment of static and Cyborg came in. "I haven't had any luck either. I tried getting into a few of the computers I passed that were still working, to see what I could find out, but… nothing."

Gizmo entered the signal. "He's right. Whatever did this, they weren't after data on the computers. And it doesn't look like they were really after anything else either, except maybe blood… the stuff is everywhere! It smells awful down here…" The pint-sized genius sounded extremely nervous.

"Just try to keep calm. If anything happens, we've all got communicators. We should be alright." Robin said.

There was silence for a few minutes, and then…

"Robin, what do you think could have done this?" Zero asked over the communicator. "Looks like… animals or something."

"I'm not positive, but… I think I've got a pretty good guess."

"Trigon?"

"… Exactly."

"Yes, well… she won't say anything about it, but Jinx is very nervous; I can tell."

"Is she alright?" Robin asked.

"I think so. It's just that… like she said, she can sense negative energy… and it must be everywhere down here, because she's been getting very jumpy."

"I know what you mean. This is starting to scare me, too." Robin sighed.

"… Right. Well, I'll let you know if we find anyone. Zero, out…"

The communicator went silent again, leaving Robin alone with the echoes and noises of the building.

He stepped cautiously around a corner, peeking over to look. In front of him, there was a room full of filing cabinets and desks, though most of it was toppled and hurled about, with papers torn up all over the floor. He groaned with disgust and stumbled back…

… There was what appeared to be a severed human leg on the ground, chewed on as if someone or something had taken it to be a meal.

Forcing himself not to look, he hurried past it and reached for the door to the next room… but abruptly, there was a noise behind. It was a sharp, but muffled, crashing sound like a gunshot off in the distance. He whipped around to look, but nothing was there. Sighing, he turned back around… when he realized that the room was suddenly red.

He did a double take and looked around. As if from nowhere, the room was bathed in red light, and seemed to be distorted as though he were looking at it through warped glass. Disoriented, he stumbled a few times but caught himself by using his staff as support.

Out of nowhere, the leg on the ground spun… around and around like the arrow on some macabre compass… then, it rose up into the air. It floated there of its own accord, spinning and twitching erratically whilst letting out sickening gurgles and dripping blood and bile onto the already soiled floor in a puddle.

Then, with the same faint sound as before, the leg dropped to the ground and the red light faded. Everything was the same as before.

Panicking by this point, Robin stepped backwards hastily, pressing himself against the door…

… Which then opened like it had a mind of its own, causing him to tumble through into a pitch-black room. It slammed after him, locking him out.

Robin scrambled to his feet, shining his flashlight around frantically.

He was now in a room of various pipes and shafts, like an AC/Heating station for the base. The pipes and tubes crisscrossed each other in such ways that they almost formed a maze, with gratings and ventilation shafts lining the floor, ceiling, and walls.

Heart thumping, he felt his way through the darkness, his flashlight providing his only source of light… though he also kept a VERY firm hold on his Bo staff, understandably.

"This is crazy…" He mumbled to himself, looking around and searching for a way out.

Suddenly, every light in the room flashed back on at full power, causing him to cry out and shield his eyes against the sudden, blinding onslaught. When he managed to open them again, he saw the room with much more clarity, and managed to make his way out of the pipes. But barely had he passed through them when he heard rummaging noises behind him…

Turning around quickly and crouching into a battle-stance, he gripped his staff and darted his eyes around the room apprehensively. Nothing was there…

Suddenly, the sound was repeated. It was as if something were crawling and scratching about inside the walls. Indeed, the sound was reminiscent of sharp nails or claws against dull metal.

Suddenly, one of the gratings on the floor popped out of its socket and bounced a few feet away, letting a cloud of steam float up. Then, as Robin watched in amazement, a gnarled, clawed hand reached up through the opening… followed by another… and something horrible crawled out into full view.

It stood on two legs like a man, but with taut and leathery red skin that barely stretched over the muscular skeleton beneath it. Its head was much like a human's except that it was completely bald with a pair of curled horns atop. Its legs were furry with black hair and ended in hooves, like a goat, and it had a long red tail that ended in a pointed triangle.

The Hellish thing reared back, taking a deep rattling breath, and let out an unearthly shriek that made Robin nearly drop his staff and cover his ears. Then, it pounced at him with long, crooked claws extended!

Out of sheer reflex, Robin brough up his staff just in the nick of time to avoid untimely goring. The demon caught the staff in its hands and attempted to yank it away. Robin grunted angrily and kicked it in the gut, causing it to lose its hold and double over. Then, he swiftly brought the staff back up into the monster's jaw, sending it flying against a nearby wall, where it slid off slowly with a squeak and a weak hiss.

Robin backed up and reached for a boomerang as the monster got back to its hooves. It snarled and charged again, lowering its head like a bull. Robin saw this coming and leapt into the air, somersaulting over the creature and coming down behind it. He quickly hurled the boomerang straight at the monster. It went through its chest with a slice, all the way through, then came back in a perfect curve and pierced straight through again before returning to Robin, who wiped it on his cape.

The monster growled and stumbled, but was not beaten yet. It turned, and without warning, a small cannon sprouted from a bulge in its arm. It fired off a couple grenades from the cannon. Robin dove behind a box in an attempt to take cover, but he was blown back against the wall even so. He groaned and got up, staggering.

The thing fired another pair of grenade shots from its arm cannon, but Robin hopped to the side and tossed some explosive discs. They whizzed through the air with an ominous hum, and hit the demon head-on, blowing it to bits that splattered on the wall.

Stumbling back a bit, Robin sighed and collapsed to the ground, propping himself up on his staff and clutching his head. 'This is bad… really bad.' He bemoaned mentally.

Suddenly, the door—not the one he'd come in through, but the one leading out—began rattling. The knob turned very slowly…

Leaping to his feet, Robin prepared for another brawl.

The door slowly slid open and The Boy Wonder tensed up expectantly…

… And Starfire poked her head hesitantly through the door.

He dropped his staff and gasped. "Starfire!"

She flinched when she heard her name called, but when she saw him, she flew over and embraced him tightly. "Oh Robin! It was horrible! There are monsters; one attacked me! I slew it, but… I'm certain there are more! We must—"

He cut her off gently. "Wait… you fought one too?"

"… Yes… what do you mean, 'too'?"

"I just got attacked by one. We have to warn the others; I don't think they know…"

"Yes, you are right. Let us go and find them…"

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon, pick up! I know you're there, Boy Blunder!" Smoke snarled into the device.

His only answer was a bit of sputtering static.

"Ah, crap. He's not hearing me…"

Smoke had been wandering the halls for all this time, with no sign of survivors. He was, at this point, very lost and needed to find the others if he was going to get out of here. It was probably a safe bet that he wasn't going to find any survivors anyway…

Thankfully, even if his communicator wouldn't work, it STILL had a function that allowed him to see the positions of the other Titans in relation to his own. He was currently looking for them, and the nearest ones seemed to be Mammoth and Gizmo.

He took one last glance at the little radar on his comm., then slowly shouldered his gun and started walking in that general direction down the long, eerie corridor.

Eventually, he came to a door. He reached to open it, but froze in mid-movement when his genetically enhanced ears picked up a welcome sound behind it. It was a soft, steady clicking: the unmistakable sound of someone typing on a computer keyboard. With a sigh of relief, he opened up the door and stepped inside.

There, lit dimly by the glow of a computer monitor, was the figure of a man working at a keyboard.

"Man, am I glad I found you! This place has been damn creepy. What happened here?"

No response. The man typed steadily…

"Uh… you deaf, Mr.?"

…Still no reaction whatsoever.

Sighing heavily and rolling his eyes, Smoke reached out to grab the man lightly by the shoulders… and the lights flickered back on. The man turned around, and Smoke leapt backwards with a yelp.

He had a gaping cavity in the front of his head, as though his face had been torn off. Bits of bone and droplets of blood and puss dripped out. With a muffled groaning noise, the man… or was it as corpse?… brought its arms up in front of it in a stiff position and shuffled clumsily towards Smoke.

Reflexively, Smoke drew an auto revolver and pummeled the thing with bullets, causing it to grunt and twitch before falling to the ground, dead once and for all.

"What… the Hell? A zombie?" Smoke stuttered.

It was now visible what the zombie had been typing at the computer. _'eaaaat braiiins… eat braiiiins… eeeeeat brains…'_

He blinked. "Trigon's creations are tough, but… not too bright."

Just as he said this, various vents and sections of the wall began to rattle violently and bulge out. One by one, they blew off and zombies began crawling through in vast numbers… they stared Smoke down through hollow, sunken eyes.

He unclasped the chainsaw from his waist and gave it a fierce crank, causing it to sputter to life with a cloud of exhaust and a violent metallic buzz.

"… All right, then. Come get some."

* * *

Jinx, unfortunately, seemed to have attracted the most attention among the demons, because she was fighting an entire roomful at the moment.

They were not the same kind that had attacked Robin and Starfire. They were humanoid and on two legs, but had large wings sticking from their backs and mouths that sprouted tentacles, a la Cthulhu. The octopus-like mouths drooled slime and gave off a nasty odor. The wings seemed wired to jet packs on their backs, and coated with metal armor.

She did several back flips to keep her distance, and slung a powerful pink dark-magic wave that sliced the demons off at the knees, reducing them to writhing stumps.

A pair ambushed her from the side, but she leapt up and pulled off a spin kick in midair that sent them both flying. Shortly after she landed, one attempted to grab her from behind, but she ducked and hexed its hands, resulting in it accidentally grabbing a wire protruding from a wall and electrocuting itself to death.

The last one standing, she promptly took care of with a rosy-pink sphere of bad-luck that she hurled, exploding upon impact and splattering the demon to bloody goo.

Walking backwards, she collapsed on the ground against the wall, thoroughly exhausted.

She rested there for a few minutes, trembling. Zero… she had become separated from him a while back. This… tentacle thing… from the roof, had just… grabbed him. She hadn't seen him since. All the negative energy and bad karma swimming around the atmosphere of this place didn't help, either…

There was a sudden noise at the door to the room. It stretched outward, grating and screeching, and finally busted off its hinges. More of the winged squid demons, slimy green in color, burst through.

Jumping to her feet, she charged up some hexes and her eyes flickered pink in a threatening manner. "Get away!"

One of the monster screeched in response, right before opening its bizarre mouth and spitting a wad of steaming brown sludge at her. She squealed and ducked just in time to avoid taking it to the face, but stumbled as she did so. She fell to the ground panting.

The demons stomped towards her, flapping their scaly wings in a rather pleased manner. They came right next to her and raised their clawed hands as if to finish her…

… But abruptly, she twisted on the ground and tripped them with her legs. They crumpled to the ground with a pair of grunts as she pushed herself back up to her feet.

She dropped a hex on them, frying them with dark energy and stamped their heads in with her heels, making sure they were dead.

She heard another noise at this point, from above her… she looked up and saw the same kind of tentacle that had grabbed Zero earlier. She stared as it writhed on the ceiling, like some weird vine…

A moment later, a blade came through and sawed the tentacles apart. There was a pause as the tentacles made odd gurgling choking noises and retreated into holes on the roof… the blade's owner soon became apparent when Sub-Zero dropped down, slimy but unharmed.

"Jinx…" He panted. "Are you… ok? Heard you down here, but… those things… I couldn't get out of there!" He ran over to her. "Are you hurt?"

"… N-no… I don't think so… I'm just scared…" She said slowly. "Oh God… what are these things? Do the others know?" She demanded.

"I… I don't know. But here, rest a minute." He said, sitting next to her. "I'll call them on the comm. and find out."

She laid her weary head on his shoulder and he put his furry cape around her as he worked the communicator with one hand and stroked her hair with the other. Finally, someone answered.

"Sub-Zero? Is that you?"

"Robin? Robin! Yeah, it's me! Jinx is here, too! Listen, we've got to get out of here as soon as possible; there are—"

"Monsters. Demons. I know…" Robin groaned. "Starfire and I were attacked. We got in touch with Cyborg and Beast Boy. They were attacked by… these… things from the ceiling. But they're all right. We're meeting up with them now."

"Good! Look, Jinx is seriously in bad shape. Whatever she's sensing down here is taking a lot out of here, not to mention she just took down about an exorcist's worth of demons. She needs to rest, and so do I. We'll hold here 'till you can find us."

"All right. Tell her I said 'hang in there'. We're on our way, just as soon as we find B.B. and Cy."

* * *

Mammoth grunted and snapped the neck of the zombie he was holding, right before tearing the head off the shoulders and tossing it at another Zombie like a baseball, knocking that corpse's head off as well.

"Hmph. Now THAT'S killin' two undead birds with one stone, huh Giz?"

Said diminuitive wizkid blasted a few zombies into puddles with machine-guns mounted to his mechanized spider legs and nodded. "These things ain't so tough. But this is freakin' me out! We gotta hurry up and find everybody." He squeaked.

Mammoth stomped in front, cracking his knuckles, while Gizmo brought up the rear, scurrying along on his mecha legs. In this way, they made their way past a couple hallways full of Zombies without much trouble and finally wound up at a locked door.

"Grmm…. Oof!" Mammoth grunted, trying to yank it off its hinges, but to no avail. "S'not workin'. I can't get it open!"

"Stand back." Gizmo said.

Mammoth took a few steps back and Gizmo let fly with more shots from his leg guns. But still, the door remained unmoved…

"… Crud! There's no way we're getting in there… we might as well turn arou—"

"Wait… d'you hear that…?" Mammoth asked suddenly.

They both went silent and listened. On the other side of the door was what sounded like a world war two battlefield. A cacophony of gunshots, combined with what sounded suspiciously like splattering zombies and demons, was rounded out by the whirring and puttering of a chainsaw to create a perfect symphony of combat, so to speak.

"… Is that… Smoke?" Gizmo asked.

"… Sounds like it. And it sounds like he's having a tough time over there…"

"Give me a hand!" Gizmo yelled. He reared up on his spider legs and pressed the robotic limbs against the door with as much force as he could get out of them.

"Yep." Mammoth grunted, slamming his meaty arms against the door as well, shoving it in with all the might he could muster.

Eventually, the door gave in. With a creak and a crash, it fell inwards to reveal the entrance to the next room.

Smoke was in there, all right. And at the moment, a flock of demons of various types had him pinned against a wall with only his chainsaw for defense. His guns lay on the ground, completely spent of munitions.

"Yah! Eat it, Ugly!" He spat, lunging out and impaling a nearby monster on his saw, right before raising up his size 14 cowboy boot and kicking it off the blade into a bloody pulp on the ground.

He cried out and whipped back around, slicing a few more in half at the waist and killing them instantly. The remainder pounced upon him. He struggled, but was overpowered…

The next thing Smoke expected was to be eaten alive… but suddenly, a massive pair of fists seized the demons and hurled them into a window, killing them on impact with a shatter of glass and a slight spray of multi-colored blood.

Mammoth helped Smoke up and Gizmo handed him his guns.

"Smoke! Are you alright…"

He stared incredulously for a moment. He looked at his guns… then at himself… then at them… finally, he spoke:

"… I… am…." His left eye twitched somewhat. "… _COMPLETELY_… _OUT_… OF **AMMO**…" He slumped to the ground pathetically and shook his head dazedly, as though he were dreaming. "… That's… never happened to me before…"

"Well still, ya did it! You took out those evil creatures!" Mammoth said bracingly, patting him on the back with his meaty hand almost hard enough to knock him over.

"It could have been worse." Gizmo added. "You could have run out of gas for that chainsaw, too."

"God forbid!" Smoke grunted. "Don't even joke like that, Runt. Now c'mon… let's go find the others…"

Smoke turned… and though neither Gizmo nor Mammoth saw because their back was turned, one of the creatures had only been stunned… it was getting up for a lung, opening it's mouth to reveal numerous rows of massive, needle-like teeth.

"LOOK OUT!" Smoke yelled, shoving Mammoth out of the way just as the beast shrieked and lunged.

With no weapon, Smoke brought his left arm in a defensive position as the thing's teeth came closer and closer…

… There was a sound like a tree limb snapping in a vice, and a shaky scream.

* * *

All the Titans were finally assembled; including Terra who had been wandering around lost but had, thankfully, only encountered a single zombie. But better yet, she had been able to find a survivor: the chief! Raven and Ghost, who had been lying low in a room the whole time had been found by Cyborg and Beast Boy. They'd fought a few demons, but nothing they couldn't handle. Blackfire had encountered Robin and Star shortly after those two had found each other, and was now with the others.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ghost asked Raven in concern. "… This has been quite an ordeal."

"Yeah. I'm… fine." Raven said. "I'm just happy nobody else was hurt."

Ghost nodded. "The only ones missing are Smoke, Gizmo, and Mammoth. We need to find them, but once we do that, we can go back to the tower. I think all the creatures are dead. The chief said all the ones in the city itself had been taken care of. Only the ones infesting the base were left, and we killed them."

Raven nodded. Then, as her gaze drifted around her teammates, she noticed the less-than-comfortable looking Jinx.

"Ghost…"

"Hm?"

"I'll be back in a second. I'm going to go see if I can help Jinx… she's in rough shape."

"Good thinking. I hope she's ok…"

As Raven got to her feet, Ghost couldn't help but stare as she walked away.

…

"… See something you like?"

Ghost nearly jumped to the ceiling. "What the…?"

He looked over and there was Cyborg, grinning. "… What? Just a casual question."

"Erm… well… I, uh… that is…" He flushed crimson.

"Aw, come on. No shame in it. I saw how you were staring at Raven."

Ghost looked up at the bionic teen with an expression of mixed nervousness and rapture. "Cyborg… can you keep a secret, my mechanized friend?"

"Me? Secret? Oh come on, who could you trust more than ol' Cyborg?" He said, grin growing wider.

"Well…" Ghost glanced over… "… I must admit. Raven is…" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah?" Cyborg egged him on, raising an eyebrow.

"She's…. beautiful…" He sighed the latter word in a long, drawn-out manner.

Cy's smile faded somewhat. "I was afraid you were gonna say that."

"What? But why?"

"She's not really… the romantic type, if you get me." Cy shifted uncomfortably. "I hate to say it, but… that's why I asked in the first place. I figured you needed to be warned."

"Warned? Of what?"

"… You're better off forgetting about her, Dawg. She's just not that kind, you know?"

Ghost slumped in a depressed way. "… I suppose you're right. She'd never see me as anything… but a coward."

…

… "GUYS! GUYS, QUICK!" Mammoth's voice suddenly boomed into the room. "WE GOTTA GO! NOW!"

He came into the room toting Smoke in his arms, groaning and limp... strangely clutching at his left sleeve.

For a moment, there was dead silence. Then Blackfire, who had been talking with Star and Robin, gasped and flew over quickly.

"Smoke…? SMOKE!" She yelped panickedly.

He groaned softly in response but barely moved.

"What's wrong with him?" She demanded loudly. "WHAT?"

Mammoth started to say something, then looked at Gizmo… who shrugged sadly.

"Here… grab his arm." Mammoth said after a sec, pointing to the left sleeve of Smoke's black-leather jacket.

Blackfire noticed that blood was trickling from the sleeve. Realizing his arm must be the source of the problem, she reached for it…

… And where there should have been a muscular, thin arm there was only a limp, empty sleeve that dangled like a wet rag after the elbow.

Mammoth restated his previous comment.

"We have to get him back to the Tower… NOW!"

* * *

**_"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRGHHHHH!"_**

"Temper, temper, my lord. You'll not do very well in the next battle either, if you don't keep your head about you."

"DAMNABLE TITANS! It's your OWN head you should be worried about, Doctor!" Trigon roared. "How could they slay a legion of my demons on their own?"

"They are more powerful now that they have more companions." Myntull stated, yawning and opening his head up, scratching his brain thoughtfully as it throbbed and pulsed.

"There's one thing we still have yet to do…" Trigon growled. "… Wait for them to Return to their little tower… Then… unleash Behemoth."

"Are you quite sure? He may flatten the entire city."

"At this point, I DON'T CARE! JUST KILL THOSEBLASTEDMORTAL CHILDREN!"

"... With pleasure, Sir."


	11. Chapter Ten

_Disclaimer: All your Titans are not belong to me._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And Ghost—Chapter Ten_**

The journey back to the Tower seemed like a five minute blur to Smoke. The whole ordeal of getting him into the truck took what was probably less than a minute, though Blackfire insisted on sitting on the back seat next to where Raven had laid him down on a large blanket. Somehow, in his barely conscious pain-shrouded mind, the realization of being in his truck must've clicked, because he managed to moan: "Keys… in my… pocket… Don't let Zero drive…"

Sub-Zero eyed the various dials and switches on the dashboard and sighed. "He's right. I have no clue how to operate one of these things…"

"I don't have a license…" Mammoth grunted. "… But then again, that's never stopped me before…"

"We're doing things by the rules now, remember?" Jinx sighed, prompting a pair of disappointed groans from Gizmo and Mammoth.

"Dammit, I don't care whether we do it by the rules or not; just hurry up!" Blackfire screeched from the backseat.

"Calm down, calm down!" Terra urged her gently. "I'll drive…"

Ghost cocked an eyebrow. "You can drive?"

"Of course I can drive." She said as if it were obvious, getting into the front seat after grabbing the keys out of Smoke's overalls pocket. She cranked the humvee up as Cyborg revved up the T-Car in front of them.

A moment later, both vehicles sped off with screeching tires and the smell of burnt rubber. Surprisingly, Terra drove just as fast as Smoke did and was, arguably, less reckless.

Meanwhile, back in the T-Car…

"Robin… I have just realized…" Starfire said slowly. "… If Smoke is incapable, then who is maneuvering the vehicle?"

"Probably Jinx or Mammoth…" Robin said dismissively. "Right Cy?"

"Yeah… they're the two most…" His eyes drited to the rear view mirror, and he did a double take. "What the…? Terra?"

Beast Boy stared. "Terra can drive…?"

_**Back At The Tower, Several Minutes Later…**_

"Well, it's a good thing Smoke's so tough." Cyborg said, clearly relieved. "I was worried there for a few minutes… but I think he'll pull through just fine…"

"But… What happened?" Blackfire asked, pressing herself against the railing on the side of Smoke's cot. "Mammoth never told me!"

"Gizmo told me…" Cyborg sighed. "It was the demons. Smoke saved Mammoth's life, though… the thing was about to tear his throat out from behind, but… Smoke shoved him out of the way. So it got his arm instead and… bit it off at the elbow…"

Blackfire shuddered. "I… I can't believe this! What's he going to say when he wakes up? And how did you get him to sleep?"

"Well, you know he can be stubborn sometimes. He didn't want to take any medicine; said he'd be OK, but… I slipped him some pain meds and sedatives in through some cola. He's been asleep for a while now, and I don't think he's in any pain…"

"Thank X'hal…" Blackfire sighed.

Smoke lay there on his side, his left sleeve rolled up to reveal a flat stump just where his elbow ended. It was bandaged very heavily, with at least a solid inch of bandage over it.

"Actually… I have to admit. It might be a good thing that Smoke's so damn stubborn. That means he's too stubborn to let anything kill him without putting up a fight." Cy said with a wry smile.

At that moment, Mammoth stepped into the room along with Robin and Starfire.

"Is he ok?" Was the first thing out of Mammoth's mouth. "He saved my ass back there; I don't want 'im to die!"

"No, he's not going to die… and yes, I am going to be able to replace the arm." Cy said, seeing the question on the tip of Robin's tongue.

Star floated over to Blackfire, who was staring tearfully at Smoke. "Sister… are you… all right?" She asked hesitantly.

"… I…" Blackfire quickly wiped her eyes, trying to make it look as though she were not tearing up. "… I don't know… I won't know until he wakes up…" She said softly.

"I don't think he'll be out much longer…" Cy reassured her. "I didn't give him a very strong dose… well, I actually gave him a massive dose, but… to HIM, it's not very strong.

"… I never thought… I'd ever have anybody save my life." Mammoth grunted slowly, sitting down on the same bench as Cyborg… and promptly causing it to shift with his weight.

"You're not getting all wimpy on us now, are you?" Cyborg joked with a grin, trying to joke. But nobody laughed; they all maintained the same grim, dour expression.

"Oh come on, lighten up!" Cy said. "I'm telling you, he's fine already. I could stop treatment right now and he'd probably be healed in day or so. With my help, he'll be back on his feet before dinner time…. And besides… do you know how pissed he'd be if he saw you all getting so worked up over him?"

Blackfire sighed. "… Cyborg's right. He wouldn't want us to worry…"

"I just can't help but wonder… how is he going to take this?" Robin said.

"I don't know…" Cy responded. "… But we'll find out soon enough."

_**Fifty One Minutes Later…**_

"Uuugh…" Smoke's vision was blurry when he first opened his eyes.

He'd had the weirdest nightmare. Demons, zombies, and… he'd got bitten, and…

Suddenly, a slight pain stung into his left arm… all the way down to his elbow, where it stopped like a wire that had been cut short. And all the sudden, he felt a sickened realization as his gut seemed to turn upside down.

That had not been a nightmare.

He lifted his right arm… and inspected his fingers. He tried to lift his left arm… and saw a bandaged stump at the elbow.

A thousand things swarmed through his head. He was glad that he, at least, wasn't dead—or worse. Secondly, he was glad that he didn't feel any pain, though that was probably because that rascal Cyborg had slipped him enough meds to KO a Canadian Moose.

"You're awake!" A deep voice said in relief from the doorway.

Cyborg was walking in, holding what looked like a large metal briefcase, smiling slightly.

"You are one lucky dude, y'know that?" Cy asked. "I was afraid you'd bleed to death before we could fix you up. But before I'd even bandaged you, that wound was beginning to heal on its own."

"… How bad is it, Cy?" Smoke asked softly. It was the only thing he knew to say.

"… The… arm?" Cy said slowly, smile fading.

"I know it's gone. I'm not blind. But… I mean, can it be… I don't know… replaced or something?"

Cyborg patted the large bulky case. "Actually, that's why I brought this…" He tossed it to Smoke, who caught it with his good hand.

Sitting down the fairly heavy thing, Smoke unlatched it and opened it up. Inside, it was covered by what looked to be a red velvet lining… with several mechanical arms, much like Cyborg's except in various colors, inside the case; each one was carefully placed in a slot shaped exactly right for the mechanized limb inside.

"… Cy… did you… make these?" Smoke said slowly. "… For me?"

"Well… No." Cyborg admitted. "… Those are spares. You never know when one might break or something."

Smoke picked up the metal appendages with his good arm and studied them closely.

"… They're all so… sleek… shiny." Smoke said slowly.

"Well… yeah. Why?"

"… Look, I know that beggars can't be choosers. And I know that, at this point, I'm not even a beggar anymore. But… I don't suppose you've got anything more…" He searched for the right word. "… Retro?"

"Retro? Well… what do you mean exactly?" Cy asked, looking confused.

"Hang on… hand me a piece of paper and a pen from over there…"

Cyborg complied, reaching over to a nearby table and grabbing the requested objects and handing them to Smoke. Quickly, he started making a rough sketch on the piece of paper, including details such as a size scale, color, materials, and workings. Then, after about fifteen minutes of silence, he handed it to Cyborg; the bionic teen studied the drawing carefully.

"Do you think you could… make something more like that?"

Cy's eyes widened incredulously. "Are you kidding? I could build one of these in no time flat with spare parts from the T-Car. But…" He looked over in concern. "… it's so… simple. Crude, even."

"It wouldn't have circuits or computerization like yours." Smoke confirmed. "It would just have gears and cogs and pistons and things. I'm better at working onmore classicstyle machinery like that, so it'll be easier for me to perform maintenance on."

"Right. But it won't be capable of any computer systems or anything." Cyborg warned.

"That's fine." Cy assured. "I don't need anything as fancy as what you've got… as long as it can pull a trigger, it's fine with me…" Smoke's eyes drifted to the pile of weaponry on the table, all his, and a proverbial light bulb went off in his head. "… Actually… we COULD take my chainsaw and—"

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer's no." Cy said firmly. "… Do you have any IDEA how fast Blackfire would dismantle me if I mounted that thing on you? Besides, this is Teen Titans, not Evil Dead."

"Fine… spoil-sport." Smoke said in mock-anger, sticking his tongue out.

"I'll have this arm ready for you in a couple hours or so. Until then, just try to relax so that wound will heal up right." Cyborg told him. "… And if you need anything, we'll get it for you."

"……" Smoke was silent for a moment, though his hazel eyes were clouded with deep thought.

Cyborg started to walk out, but suddenly…

"Wait! There… is… one thing…"

The mechanized teenager stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned to face him. "… Yeah?"

"… Get… Blackfire. Please?"

Cyborg blinked a couple times, then smiled widely. "Sure."

And with that, he walked off briskly and shut the door with a crack behind him, leaving Smoke alone to his thoughts.

* * *

_**Deep In The Bowels Of The Demon Dimension…**_

"Steady… steady… we don't want to tire him out too much; he's got a fight to win." Myntull said briskly, scribbling notes down on a blood-stained note pad with a feathery quill pen. "Yes, this creature is most fascinating. A pity he's far too dangerous to study up close…"

A small swarm of Trigon's demon minions were equipped with what looked like primitive cattle-brands: iron rods with hot coals attached to the end. Gripping these like weapons, they stood at the ready outside what looked like a pair of barred prison doors… except that they were wide enough to accommodate the passage of a blue whale…

"Open the gate!" One of the creatures snarled in a hoarse, warbling tone, gesturing at the giant doors commandingly.

A pair of the demons at once scuttled up and grabbed two large chains—one on either side of the massive gate—and pulled. There was the echoing sound of massive gears turning underneath the twisted metal framework that served as a floor for this dungeon. Slowly but surely, the doors were cranked open noisily, deafening crashes and clanks emitting from within.

Once they were fully open, the demons scurried back and rejoined the others, where the whole group proceeded to brandish their rods and hiss.

_…… Boom……_

The ground seemed to vibrate for a split second beneath their talon-like feet.

_…… Boom…… Boom……_

_… Boom…… Boom…… Boom…… Boom…_

The gates shuddered on their hinges, and the whole dungeon creaked dangerously under the weight of some unseen force. The ground seemed to tilt and shift every time the sound was repeated.

As the sounds grew steadily louder, a silhouette—roughly ¾ the height of Titan's Tower, and probably even more wide—became visible, steadily gaining clarity as it approached from within the confines of the gargantuan cage it called home.

Standing on four legs like a gargantuan ox or cow, it lumbered forward at them. The sound of its footsteps rumbled like an earthquake, echoing a thundering series of booms and bangs outwards.

"Now!" Myntull barked, pointing his quill pen at the bizarre monster.

Without waiting for further orders, the minions scrambled inside the cage, hissing and squealing to each other in some strange unknown tongue. They hopped and dashed about, prodding the thing's legs with the rods, forcing it, herding it out of the dungeon. As the huge animal stepped into the light, its features became very visible.

Its entire body, covered in shiny black fur, was that of a camel; it was huge and muscular with a pair of huge humps on top. The tail was covered in the same fur but was like a horse's tail, long and straight. At the neck, it changed abruptly. It had the head of an elephant, complete with long, cruel, jagged tusks and a thick, writhing snout. But whereas an elephant has big floppy ears, this monster had massive curled horns like a ram. Tusks, like a wild boar, jutted up from its lip and paired with the tusks to make a very threatening array of spikes on its face. Its feet were white, and they were hooves like a cow has.

Myntull smiled, showing a mouthful of crooked teeth. "… Behemoth…!"

* * *

Smoke was flat on his back in the infirmary cot, pondering his current situation, when there was suddenly a knock at the door.

To lazy to get up and get it himself, he flopped over and pressed his face into the pillow for a moment before calling out. "It ain't locked. Come in."

The door wooshed open again, but there was no one there. Until a purple-and-black blur zipped through the air so fast that every curtain in the room fluttered.

"You're awake!" Blackfire cried, gripping him in a spleen-splattering hug that would have made Starfire proud.

"Urp! Uh, not for long if I can't breathe, Babe…" Smoke managed to chuckle out.

She quickly let him go, blushing. Then she grabbed a chair from two cots over and pulled up a seat for herself, sitting down. "I'm so glad you woke up. I was getting so worried."

"About me?" Smoke snorted with a grin. "Nah… I'm not dead yet."

"But…your… arm…" She said hesitantly, wincing.

"Aw, never mind it." Smoke said, waving the stump dismissively. "I got a spare anyway." He said with a smile. "… 'Sides… Cyborg is working on a new one now. Shouldn't take long to finish."

Blackfire nodded, rubbing her hand along his good arm. "Good." She looked at the bandaged nub worriedly. "Does it… hurt…?"

"Well, not really. Whatever the Hell Cyborg pumped me full of seems to have worked." Smoke said. "… Though I still wish he wouldn't have wasted it on me."

"What do you mean, 'wasted'?" Blackfire demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Well… I mean… I would've been alright without it. Somebody else might NEED that medicine later on."

"We've got plenty." Blackfire assured him. "And besides, you were in horrible pain before he gave it to you!"

Smoke nodded. "Well, you've got a point… but you know what they say: Pain is weakness leaving the body."

"That doesn't mean you should have to suffer." Blackfire stated firmly. "… If you so much as feel a tiny sting coming back on… please… please, promise me you'll say something?" She pleaded quietly, squeezing his arm.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, but with a smile. "… Damn. I can never say 'no' to you, can I? Sure… I promise." He said, picking up her hand and giving it a kiss.

She smiled, relief lightening her features. "Thanks. Since Cyborg is working on that arm, and Beast Boy's hanging out with Terra… I think the only other one who can cook is Zero… so I guess he's cooking tonight."

Smoke stared. "… Zero? But he hates fire and heat. Besides, does he even know how to operate the stove? He's only been here a few months; I'm still not completely sure he understands technology."

"I'm sure he can handle it." Blackfire said. "Now I need to go. I'm supposed to be helping Starfire with some stuff."

"Right. Take care of yourself." Smoke yawned, lying back on the cot.

She began hovering towards the door, but… "Hey, wait!" Blackfire turned to look at Smoke, who had propped himself up on the cot with one arm.

"… No kiss?" He pouted, an expression of mock-hurt on his grinning face.

She stared for a minute, then grinned back… right before flying over, grabbing him by one overall strap, and giving him a fourteen-second-long kiss on the lips, and then pulling away and producing a loud 'Smack' sound. Smoke grinned dopily for a second, and then flopped backwards onto the pillow.

Blackfire hovered out, giggling softly.

* * *

"Ahh, yes… very nice…" Ghost murmured to himself as he dug through an old crate of junk in the basement. Everyone knows that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and this really proved out true for Ghost in particular.

The basement of Titan's Tower was, for Ghost, a veritable treasure trove of delightful trinkets. So far, he had come across an old grand piano that had once belonged to Cyborg before he lost interest in it, several boxes of scented candles that Raven had bought once but never used, an old bookshelf that used to be in Starfire's room before she bought a newer pink one, and a large bed of unknown origin.

Over at the far end of the basement was a flight of stairs going down into a small room that served no real purpose other than storage. Ghost had moved all the boxes and barrels from that room into the main basement, and had started moving stuff he liked into it, including all the aforementioned things along with a spare television set and a large doll of a bat that had probably been Beast Boy's from a long time ago.

"I needn't bother them about lodgings when I can procure my own." He reasoned to himself as he moved to inspect a large object covered with a dusty tarp.

He yanked the tarp off, revealing a four and a half foot high concrete statue of a Chinese dragon that had once been in Robin's room just for decoration. Grinning, Ghost grabbed it and toted it off into his newly claimed "room" in the deepest part of the basement.

He spent a long time arranging his new things to get it right, and finally wound up with a satisfactory arrangement. The room itself was made entirely of concrete and mortar, with nothing in the way of decoration.

The large bed, with deep purple sheets and white pillows, was in the far left corner of the small room. The dragon statue was at the end of the bed so that it faced the entrance to the room. The TV was in the center, with an old rocking chair (from who knows where…) sitting in front of it, made of wood and nails. The candles were all about the room, providing the only other light source besides a single bulb in the ceiling; he had found several silver candelabras that had also been Ravens to put them on. The bookcase, filled with books (but mainly for decoration since he couldn't read them), was on the far wall by itself. The piano was next to the door, with a stool in front. After Ghost had spent a few minutes tuning it, it was as good as new.

Happy with his handiwork, he set off to head back upstairs…

… When a dark figure suddenly came stepped into the staircase.

Ghost yelped loudly and leapt back so far that he landed behind the TV, which he promptly crouched behind, cowering.

"Uh… It's… just me…" Robin said, a little concerned by Ghost's reaction.

Ghost picked his head up from behind the TV, peeking over the top. Upon realizing that it was just Robin, he sighed heavily with relief and slumped over. "Ohh… It's just you, Robin. By thunder, you startled me there for a moment."

"Uh, sorry about that." Robin apologized. He looked around the makeshift room. "… What are you doing down here? And with all our old stuff?"

"Oh, well, I… I didn't want to trouble you about finding me a room, so… I just… sort've helped myself." He explained with a sheepish grin.

"Wait… you want to stay down here?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Oh, I don't see why not. The basement above is well-lit and goes straight up to the kitchen, through which I can easily get to the living room. And since you didn't use any of this anyway, I just thought… you wouldn't mind me borrowing it while I'm here."

"There's no problem with that." Robin assured. "And if this is what you want, I guess there's no problem with it. I just came down here cus I heard somebody moving around from the kitchen. I guess I shouldn't be so suspicious."

Robin started to walk off, when something in the back of Ghost's mind clicked.

"Wait…!"

Robin turned around. "Yeah?"

Suddenly, Ghost seemed a bit flustered, and more than a little embarrassed. "I just… I wanted to ask you sort've a… personal question."

Robin blinked. "… Ok…"

"You are… sort've… involved, with Starfire in a way, yes?" He asked.

For once in his life, Robin actually turned red in the face. "… Yes. A little." He said evasively. "… Why do you ask."

"Well… it's just that…" Ghost seemed too tongue-tied to talk. He suddenly sprouted his wings and flapped up to the ceiling and hooked his legs around a pipe, hanging there upside down like a bat. "There, that's better. Helps me think. Now, the reason I asked is that… I need… some advice…" He said slowly.

"Uh… Sure. Ok. Ask away." Robin said with a amiable shrug, sitting down in the rocking chair.

"Well… just… hypothetically, if one inexplicably develops a strong attraction to someone, and… well… wants to…" He could seem to find the right words.

"… Ask them out on a date?" Robin suggested with a wry smile.

"… Yes. Yes, all right. If they want to ask them out… then… what is the best way to go about it?"

"Well, I guess… that depends." Robin said with a slow nod. "Who's the girl, may I ask?"

"Uhm… Well…"

"Is she in the Tower?" Robin pursued.

"Yes."

"… Then I hate to tell you, but they're all spoken for. Terra has the hots for Beast Boy, Blackfire is going out with Smoke, Jinx is… well… do I REALLY have to say anything regarding Jinx and Zero?"

"Not at all." Ghost said dryly. "But… I believe you are forgetting one."

"I… am?" Robin said slowly.

… It was then the realization of whom Ghost was referring to fully sunk into Robin's brain. "… No… you don't mean… RAVEN?"

Ghost pretended to scratch his nose, if only to cover the shade of red that had covered his face. "Well… yes, if you want to be so blunt."

Robin stared for a minute… and then burst into laughter. "Raven? You? With… Tell me you're joking."

Ghost thumped to the floor comically looking utterly dejected. "… Well… actually… no. I wasn't." He said, with an anime-style sweatdrop.

"…" Robin stared.

"… What?"

"Forget it."

"… But…"

"Look, I'm not trying to be mean. And please, I've only got your best interests in mind when I say this: Find somebody else. Raven just isn't… really… that kind of person, as much as it might surprise you."

"… Actually… that's nearly exactly what Cyborg told me."

"He was right, then."

"Please, just hear me out!" Ghost asked frustrated. "I know it's probably hopeless, but… I'm not really worried about my personal safety. I can handle myself, and I assure you: Raven is powerful… but not as powerful as I. Besides, I think…" He trailed off.

"… You think what?" Robin asked, cocking his head slightly with confusion.

There was a long pause…

"… Oh Kami, I think I'm in love!" He sighed, swooning, miniature Ravens floating around his head, causing Robin to face plant to the floor with a groan.

"… You're… you're really serious about all this, aren't you?" Robin asked, getting up.

"Yes. I know it's all very quick, but… she's so beautiful! And… brave. And… powerful. And… intelligent… and…"

"OK, ok, I get the picture!" Robin interrupted. "Well… I dunno… if you're really serious, then… the best advice I can give you is—"

The Boy Wonder leaned over and whispered into Ghost's ear.

* * *

Smoke grabbed the remote to the television set in the infirmary, and switched it on. After channel surfing for a bit and finding nothing of interest, he suddenly spotted what was undoubtedly the derelict ruins of the JCPD, on the news. He stopped to watch.

"The Teen Titans fought off an invasion of monsters yesterday, single-handedly…"

Smoke groaned at the use of the word 'single-handedly', glancing at his stump. He sighed and switched the channel. There was an interview with a racecar driver who had just won a race…

"Sir, tell me: You make it look so easy. What is your strategy?"

"Well, I guess you could say it's just natural talent. Aw heck, I could've won that race with one arm tied behind my back!"

Smoke's left eye twitched…

He hit the channel button again, this time turning to a cooking program.

"And today's special: Stump soufflé with a side of chicken fingers!"

Smoke stared incredulously at the TV. He turned it off altogether and reached for a book on a nearby table…

After selecting one that looked interesting, he flipped it open to take a look at the title page, and his eyes bugged out.

_'A Farewell To Arms, by Ernest Hemingway.'_

"….. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! DAMN YOU HEMINGWAY!"

* * *

Ghost was staring at the large metal door, marked "RAVEN" in large letter, reviewing his strategy and planning out his next move. Thankfully, he was blessed with the ability to camouflage himself into the environment, so nobody saw him standing there.

'… I… I don't think I can do this…' He gulped mentally.

As he stood there, heart pounding, he made up his mind. It was now or never. With a confident stride, he walked over, deactivating his magic camouflage, and raised his hand to knock on the door…

He was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice a Tamaranean approaching from behind...

"Raven! Dinner is prepared!" Starfire yelled from right behind Ghost, causing him to scream in a rather feminine manner and thump against the ceiling before falling back to Earth.

"… S-Star…fire… how d-did you…? Ugh… nevermind…"

Raven walked out of the room and looked at Starfire, who had somehow approached without attracting Ghost's attention, and Ghost himself, who was spread-eagled on the floor looking quite awkward.

"… Right. Are you ok?" She asked Ghost, extending a pale gray hand to help him up.

He took it and got up with a dopey smile. "… Never better. Now, eh… we better… get going before dinner gets cold."

As he watched them walk off, he stared... and sighed sadly. "... It's no use."

Then, he walked off after them, trying to smile but not having much luck.

* * *

"**THROW THE SWITCHES**!" Myntull bellowed to the demonic minions around him, all manning strange machinery surrounding a large stone circle on the rocky ground.

At his command, they all flipped the switches they stood by and a few pressed specific buttons.

The stone circle began to glow… and shine with an electrical sparkle. Lightning bolts crashed down from out of nowhere, lighting the area up and zapping the stone circle with electricity.

"A one-way ticket to Jump City, coming right up!" Myntull cackled, laughing so hard that his head flipped open to reveal the brain within. It, too, was jiggling as though with laughter, like some morbid jelly.

In an explosion of lights and sparks, the circle lit up with a dim, unearthly glimmer and a circular portal, huge enough to let Behemoth through appeared…

* * *

**_Several Hours Later…_**

After dinner, the Titans went about their usual business for a bit, but all of them gathered in the waiting room of the Tower infirmary when Cyborg went in to fit Smoke with the newly-completed mechanical arm.

It was late at night, nearly eleven-o-clock, and a storm was brewing. The rain hissed and pattered against the windows and lightning crashed loudly. Something about it seemed almost foreboding.

"Is Cyborg going to have to put Smoke to sleep again? To put the new arm on?" Sub-Zero asked.

"Well, seeing as how he's going to be attaching the thing directly to Smoke's flesh-and-bone… probably." Jinx reasoned.

"I'm really beginning to worry about Smoke. Maybe it's all the meds, but… he was acting odd earlier." Terra said softly.

"Odd?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. Beast Boy and me were walking past the infirmary and… well… he was beating the crap out of a paperback book with a coffee mug."

Everybody stared.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the room… Smoke was indeed out like a light. Cyborg, having finished the arm, was carefully attaching it, tossing bloodied bandages in the garbage nearby.

Almost an hour went by…

"… And… that… should… do it." Cyborg murmured to himself, pleased with his work.

Where Smoke's arm used to be, there was now a metal one… but not shiny or sleek like Cyborg's. It was made of iron, blackish and squared in shape. Long spines ran along the side at varying lengths, and the palm of the metal hand had a small grating vent on it. The entire knuckles were covered in screws and bolts ran along the side of the arm.

Soon after Cyborg had finished, Smoke woke up and looked drowsily at his new appendage. "… Whoa…"

"Yeah. Like it?" Cy asked.

"Well… yeah, actually. I do." Smoke said, looking at the new arm interestedly.

"I decided to put in a little something extra, too… I think you might like it. Here, lemme show ya…"

Cyborg reached over and flipped a small switch on the bottom of the arm. It flipped open on a hinge, and there was a small tank…

"Fill that tank up with gasoline, or anything else that burns… and check this out…flex your hand… but don't point it at me! Here, out the window…"

As Cyborg opened up a window, Smoke pointed his hand at it like instructed… he flexed…

And abruptly, his hand folded back against the metal arm and revealed a long, wicked-looking nozzle attached to the small gas tank. A jet of flames burst out a good twenty feet out the window, undisturbed by the rain.

"… My hand… is a flamethrower?" Smoke asked, staring at it incredulously.

"Yeah, well… It seemed like the sort've thing you'd like." Cyborg explained, grinning. "You like it?"

He stared. "Like it? I LOVE IT!"

Smoke looked out the window again, trying to make sure he hadn't actually hit anything…

… And his smile faded.

"What the…?"

Cyborg blinked. "What is it?"

"Cy, quick… hand me my backpack."

Cyborg did as instructed, and Smoke began rummaging around. Finally, he pulled out a small set of binoculars and looked out the window. After a moment, he dropped them to the ground with a clatter, a look of horror on his face.

"Smoke… what's… what's the matter? Smoke!" Cy demanded, brow wrinkled with concern.

With a trembling finger, the gunman pointed out the window… Cyborg stared, his mechanical eye seeing with clarity in the darkness. And his jaw dropped.

"Oh… my… God… what is _THAT_?"

A roar echoed from the water between the Tower and the City… and something massive and four-legged slowly began wading up on the shore…


	12. Chapter Eleven

_Disclaimer: Same as before; don't own 'em._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Eleven_**

Behemoth stomped his massive hooves on the ground, creating fissures along the street that cracked open wide and swallowed up the tanks that rolled at him. The tank cannon shells being fired at him bounced off his furry black hide like tennis balls off of a brick wall. Nothing seemed to work.

The military had responded quickly to the massive creature's presence, and the population of that particular corner of the city had, thankfully, been totally evacuated for the time being. The one good thing about the monster was the relative slowness of its lumbering movements. This plodding rate gave the military, The Titans, and everyone else time to react.

Robin grimaced as he watched a small gas-station flattened under a hoof the size of an Abrams Tank. "… My God… what's Trigon sent?"

"I don't know." Cyborg said, standing next to him. "But it's about to be dead. It's tough, but it can't be invincible."

Another battalion of tanks, equipped with cannons and machine guns, rolled rapidly up the street at the creature. The cannons automatically raised themselves, tilting upwards with a mechanical clanking. Then, with a resounding chorus of thundering explosions, the cannons went off, firing a barrage of huge explosive shells at the creatures head; they shrieked through the air at blinding speed and pierced into the creatures face, exploding in a burst of smoke, sparks, and flames.

Stumbling back slightly, the creature, Behemoth, let off a roar of pain that sounded like a trumpeting elephant combined with a bellowing ox. It took a giant step forward, the ground trembling beneath its hoof, and stared the tanks down with its gaunt, sunken eyes.

"Hey Smoke…" Robin called. "You're pretty savvy with military equipment. How much of a chance do you think they have?" He asked worriedly.

At precisely that moment, the monster took a deep breath in, rattling and shaky, and then exhaled. A cloud of scalding steam erupted forth from its elephant-like trunk, blowing the tanks back into a building, which promptly toppled upon them; the soldiers managed to scramble out into the street and run for cover just in time, before the tanks blew apart in an explosion.

Smoke winced. "… Not a ghost of a chance." He glanced over at their new resident-demonic-ninja. "No pun intended, Pal."

"No intention implied." Ghost answered simply. "But for now, I believe we should focus on the task at hand."

Smoke nodded. Holding his good arm up, his right one, he began to concentrate until his eyes flickered yellowish-green and his fingers sparked. "Haven't done this in a while… hope I still got it." He said. With a moments focus, he managed to conjure a lump of crackling ball lightning in his palm. Then, winding up like a baseball pitcher, he hurled the sparking sphere at the creature's face, where it exploded into a shower of colored sparks.

The thing reared back on its hind legs, howling with pain and whipping its trunk and tusks around wildly. When it came back down, its gargantuan weight actually shifted the ground beneath them slightly, causing them to stumble and cry out before falling to the ground.

Robin groaned and clutched his head as he stumbled to his feet. "Well, I guess it's now or never… TITANS, GO!"

At once, they set upon the creature.

Starfire and Blackfire flew high up into the air and hovered around the creatures head, blasting it with beams and energy bolts while doing their best to dodge its wriggling trunk.

"Sister! Look out!" Starfire managed to shove Black out of the way just in time to avoid getting pinned to a nearby building by a large tusk.

"Thanks…" Blackfire called, turning her anger upon the creature and blasting its face with a pair of eyebeams. The monster recoiled in pain, and fired another jet of hot steam from its snout, which they hastily flew out of the way of.

"Hey ugly! Down here!" Smoke yelled, cocking his shotgun. Loading in some explosive shells, he went to town.

BLAM! BLAM, BLAM! **Ca-Click** BLAM BLAM! BLAM! **Ca-Click** BLAM!

Seven shots rang out in rapid succession as his shotgun's barrels spat flaming buckshot at the creatures hide.

_"Rrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaooooooooooooooohhhhhh_!" The thing screeched, stomping its hoof on the ground, intending to flatten Smoke. The gunman was too quick, however, and managed to dodge around the hoof… but not before tossing a lit stick of TNT under it, causing the creature to yank its massive foot back up when an explosion cracked its hoof up the center.

"Hah! That'll teach you to watch your step!" Smoke snickered.

Robin, meanwhile, was taking advantage of the creature's distraction to fire a grappling hook into the air, at which point it latched onto the huge animal's tail firmly. Behemoth didn't seem to notice…

"Alright… here goes nothing…" He muttered… With a deep breath, he started climbing up…

Raven and Ghost had joined Star and Blackfire in the aerial assault. Star continued shooting bolts, Blackfire blasted out eyebeams, and Raven fired off crackling black projectiles at the thing's head. Ghost, however, was doing something quite different.

Reaching into the pockets of his trenchcoat, he yanked out a handful of ninja throwing stars, or, shuriken. They were shaped like five-pointed pentagram stars and surrounded by blades on the edges, like buzz saws. He hurled them with extreme precision, and they whirred through the air with an almost electric hiss before slicing into the creature's tough hide.

Despite all this damage, Behemoth didn't show any signs of slowing down. Without warning, he lifted his trunk and snorted another cloud of steam everywhere—scalding the airborne Titans in mid-flight.

Starfire shrieked as the hot steam burnt at her skin, and would've plummeted to the ground if it were not for Blackfire who, despite she herself had been badly hurt, grabbed her sister and carried her to a nearby rooftop, where she collapsed.

Raven had covered herself with a magic shield just in time to avoid the steam, and Ghost had wrapped his huge wings around himself like a protective shell; as a result, neither of them had been hurt.

"Are they alright?" Ghost called to Raven.

"… I… I'm not sure." She replied.

Just then, a blue and white blur shot towards the rooftops… it was Sub-Zero, gliding along a sheet of ice. He hopped onto the rooftops and quickly ran over and sprayed the injured sisters with a burst of cool air.

"Oohh…" Starfire sighed, relieved by the cold air on her skin.

"Are you two all right?" Zero asked, concerned.

"I'm… ok… but that things… breath. It's scalding hot!" Blackfire groaned hoarsely. She was clutching at a large black scorch mark on her cheek, where Behemoth's steam breath had hit directly.

Stepping over, Zero knelt down and placed a hand on her cheek, causing it to tingle slightly as the stinging pain of the burn vanished to be replaced by a relieving chill.

"… Th-thanks…" She said softly.

"No problem." He said with a grin.

Starfire suddenly cried out. "What is Robin doing?"

Both of them turned to look where she was pointing. There, on the Behemoth's tail, a figure was climbing up along a dangerously swaying line. It was unmistakenably Robin, clad in red, green, and yellow, with a mask.

"I don't know…" Zero replied. "… But he's either brave or crazy."

At that point, Robin reached the tail itself and grabbed hold, pulling himself up onto the monster's back. He dashed forward, his good balance preventing him from toppling off as the creature walked, and ran up the creature's twin humps, leaping onto its neck between the curled horns of its head.

"Alright, Big Fella… try this one on for size…" Robin murmured, removing an explosive charge from his belt. He stuck the device to Behemoth's furry hide and pressed a few buttons, setting the timer of the gadget to three minutes.

Meanwhile, Jinx was going over the plan. "Alright, remember what Robin told us to do. It looks like he's done up there, so get ready Mammoth!"

"Right." He grunted in response.

Robin, having done his work, leapt from the moving monster's back with a flip in the air. He came plummeting down as Mammoth got into position. The Boy wonder would've splattered against the pavement if Mammoth hadn't positioned himself right below and caught him, sitting him gently down on the ground.

"Thanks." Robin said. "Now, remember. I'm hoping that thing will open its mouth. Then, Gizmo and Cy can fire into its mouth. The others will keep it distracted until then…"

"Have you actually told the others?" Gizmo asked.

"No. I still need to." Robin sighed, pulling out his communicator. He radioed Zero, still up on the rooftop with Starfire and Blackfire. "Zero… come in…"

"Yes? Robin, what were you thinking? You could have—"

"No time to explain. Look, I planted a bomb on that thing's neck. When it blows in about two and a half minutes, I'm hoping it'll open its mouth again to scream. When that happens, Cyborg, Gizmo, and Smoke are going to force-feed it some firepower… once I get in touch with Smoke, anyway."

"Ooh, Good idea! But… what about Raven? And Ghost? They're still up there!"

Indeed, they still hovered around the creature, dodging its tusks and snout while blasting it with dark magic and shuriken.

"I'm going to warn them." Robin assured.

"Good. I'm going to try and distract it from the roof… fire some ice at it."

"Ok. Robin, out."

Once Sub-Zero had put away his communicator and briefed the twin Tamaraneans of Robin's plan, he faced the monster from the roof and held out his hands. There was a flash of blue light as a cloud of white mist surrounded his hands. With a frozen hiss, a barrage of razor-sharp icicles launched from his palms like harpoons.

They flew downwards in an arc, leaving a trail of mist and snow in the air behind them. They hit Behemoths hairy skin and pierced in on impact, causing the creature to roar and spray hot steam everywhere again. Fortunately, Raven managed to dodge it and Ghost again shielded himself.

"I say… Zero's quite the marksman." Ghost said to himself, nodding with approval. "I wonder if he's any good with a bow…?"

"Never mind that!" Raven snapped. "If you don't pay attention, you're going to find yourself skewered on a seventy-foot tusk."

"Er, Quite right! My apologies…" He said sheepishly.

Raven sighed as she watched him fly off. Why was she so concerned about his safety…? He was capable of taking care of himself… and was, in truth, probably more powerful than she was… but still… that didn't mean he was invincible, and for whatever the reason, she dreaded him getting hurt. Well, she dreaded all her friends getting hurt, but… especially so with Ghost. He was—

Her thoughts were interrupted when a massive trunk reached out and wrapped around her like a python.

"Ahhh!" She screamed, but not for long. Her lungs suddenly felt constricted by the squeezing force of Behemoth's snout. "Uh…ohh…"

"RAVEN!" Ghost screamed.

Without waiting to think of a plan, he drew his katana, shimmering golden in the light of the buildings, and dive-bombed at the creature's face. He screamed through the air like a giant bullet and swung his blade with as much might as he could muster…

All anyone else saw was a black blur and a single, golden glimmer…

… And abruptly, the trunk just fell off the creature's face.

Behemoth bellowed in agony, a large bloody spot where the snout appendage had been. It was also at this point, that the bomb Robin had planted on its thick neck beeped as the timer hit zero. Then, with an electric hum, it lit up like a light bulb… and exploded, blasting a large chunk of the monster's neck away.

The thing opened his mouth wider than ever, an anguished screech ringing out into the night and shattering most of the glass windows on all of the nearby buildings.

Ghost flew downwards in a fast spiral, trying to catch up with Raven who was rapidly plummeting towards the ground. Finally, he managed to force his wings into flapping just a bit faster, and caught up, grabbing her around the waist and making an impossibly sharp 90 degree turn before bursting upon the hard, solid ground below them.

"NOW!" Robin yelled, giving the signal.

Simultaneously, Robin hurled a fistful of explosive discs, Cyborg fired a thick beam of sonic energy, Smoke let fly with seven shots of his seven-shotgun, and Gizmo shot off six laser beams at the same time from his mechanized appendages… all aimed directly into The Behemoth's mouth.

There was a sort of combined explosion as the monster screamed and toppled over onto its side, making a few buildings crash down on top of it… it was a good thing the place had been evacuated completely.

As it struggled to get to its feet—er, hooves—Star and Blackfire flew overhead, pummeling it with energy while Smoke fired off his sniper rifle from a safe distance, pulverizing it with explosive sniper bullets.

Just when it seemed it was almost finished, Mammoth walked over to a Grayhound bus that had, somehow, survived the chaotic battle, and grabbed its fender. With a grunt and a heave, he managed to lift the bus into the air above his head, where he hurled it with all his superhuman strength. It flew in a straight line at Behemoths forehead and slammed into the monster hard, blowing up on contact.

The monster lifted its head and roared angrily, damaged but not out yet. As it got up, Beast Boy and Terra (who had been waiting for a good chance to attack) decided this was the opportune moment.

Beast Boy got a running start and transformed himself into a big, green gorilla. He beat his chest for a moment and then started galloping along on all fours towards Behemoth. Grabbing one of its legs in his hands, he gave a powerful tug that made the monster stumble, almost falling again.

"RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRHH!"

The Behemoth slung its trunk down, smacking Beast Boy into a large telephone booth, where he changed back to normal form and groaned.

"Beast Boy! No!" Terra yelled. She turned an angry gaze upon the monster, who was preparing to spray B.B. with his scalding mist.

Eyes flashing with golden power, all the debris in the area, from tiny pebbles to massive, craggy boulders, floated into the air and turned in erratic directions for a moment, before launching themselves at the speed of bullets at the large demon.

This was the most powerful attack yet. Behemoth was literally sent flying off the ground—astonishing considering its unnatural size—and slammed into a small complex of apartment buildings, all of which crumbled on top of him.

As he tried to get up, a sudden flurry of sharp boomerangs hacked into his head, gouging out pieces of skin and carving cuts into his tusks and the bleeding remains of his trunk.

Robin caught the boomerangs and back flipped in time to evade another wave of the burning steam.

"Smoke! Sub-Zero! Light him up!" Robin ordered, crouching behind a piece of ruins.

"You got it!" "With pleasure." The two of them replied simultaneously.

Smoke looked at Zero and nodded. "Ready?"

"Of course… I'm always ready."

Sub-Zero focused, making a few gestures with his hands, and in a splash of liquid blue energy, he conjured a water blast, spraying it at Smoke.

Smoke countered with a green lightning bolt that crackled and simmered dangerously against the water, flashing with light.

The two forces met in the middle between them, water and electricity mixed.

"Ready when you are!" Smoke called.

"Good! On three…!" Sub-Zero replied loudly. "One…… Two…… THREE!"

They suddenly swung their hands out at an angle and the beam of electrified water, with the combined power of a thunderstorm and a flood, shot out at Behemoth, gaining size, power, and momentum.

_**BOOOOM!**_

In the fiery red explosion of lightning bolts, flames, and watery geysers that resulted, only a crater with a sizzling and seriously injured monster remained. Most of the small buildings in the area had been totally blown away in the blinding blast.

Smoke and Sub-Zero laughed, high-fiving each other.

Meanwhile, Ghost flew over to a balcony on a skyscraper and perched there, gently sitting Raven down on it and propping her against the wall. He eyed her in concern.

"Oh… Are you OK? I thought…" He couldn't finish.

"Yeah… I… I think so…" She said quickly.

There was a tense silence…

"… I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to catch you in time…" He said shakily, looking badly startled.

"Well… you, uh… did." She said slowly, not sure of what else to say.

… Another pause.

"Look… I…… Thank you." She said softly.

"Of course. I'm just so sorry It was so close! If I had just been quicker, It—"

Raven stared, not really listening. He had just saved her life, most likely… and HE was apologizing to her? … What was his problem? Why was he so capable and powerful sometimes but so timid and insecure the rest of the time…?

"It's fine, really." She interrupted. A faint flush spread on her cheeks. "I… that is… I should be apologizing. I was… distracted. That's why it grabbed me. It was stupid of me, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Ghost nodded. "Everyone makes mistakes, you know; it really wasn't your fault. So you needn't apologize."

They watched the others continue to battle it out with the Godzilla-sized creature from a distance.

"They're doing so much… but it's acting like it's barely even hurt!" Ghost said. "Is it indestructible or something?"

"It's a demon." Raven sighed. "It's going to be tough to defeat, and impossible to kill. If we beat it, it will just be vanquished back to my Father's dimension."

"… Should we go and help them? Or do you need to rest?" Ghost asked sympathetically.

"No I'm fine." She insisted. "Let's go…"

She started to get up, but he extended her a hand. She looked at it strangely and reached out hesitantly, as though she were afraid to touch it for some reason. Then, finally, she took his hand and allowed herself to be helped up.

He smiled as she got to her feet. "It's good to see you're ok. But if you start hurting at all, tell me and we can rest some more." With that, he gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting go and got a running start before leaping off the roof; just as he did so, his wings unfolded and whipped open, and he flew towards the others.

Raven watched him go for a moment… then looked at her hand… then back to him… back to her hand…

… And finally, she took off after him.

'… I can't deny it anymore. Not even to myself…' She thought miserably. '…He _IS_ hot.'

While they were flying back, Behemoth roared and charged at them, planning to trample them all under his huge hooves. Unfortunately, a pink-haired witch had other plans…

Jinx twirled a bit, and slung several waves of bad-luck magic at him in the form of pink beams of dark energy. The bad luck took effect immediately, as the monster suddenly stumbled and tripped, falling headfirst into the ground so hard that it created a minor tremor and knocked a crater into the street shaped like his skull. It got up, roaring…

The monster had, apparently, gotten his second wind and was now stomping towards them.

All the Titans, all twelve of them (thirteen if you count Ghost), were assembled in a line in front of Behemoth's path.

The creature opened is mouth to breath out some more burning steam breath…

… And all the sudden… Several boomerangs, sizzling starbolts, crackling blackbolts, a freeze ray, several shotgun-shells' worth of buckshot, a massive muddy boulder, some missiles, a chunk of thrown debris, some pink hexes, some venom from a giant green cobra, a swarm of black locusts, a supersonic beam, and a raven-shaped bolt of black magic… all blasted the Behemoth in the face in a devastating finishing blow.

Behemoth stood there for a moment, still as a statue…

… And then started flashing red.

"… _Uh_ _oh_…" Robin gulped. "**IT'S GONNA BLOW**!"

Everybody ducked inside a nearby office building for cover and got down on the ground, slamming and locking the door behind them…

**_KKAAAAABBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!_**

The monster swelled and exploded in a deluge of smelly black goop, drenching most of the area, including all the buildings and vehicles. All that was left where the Arch-Demon once stood was a giant smoking crater that smoldered slightly with flickering embers.

As the Titans peeked out the doorway, only Smoke had this to say:

"Well… that was the easy part. Now for the real challenge… cleaning this place up. It looks like Hell… no pun intended…"


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Disclaimer: The Teen Titans are not mine._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twelve**_

"I… am SO glad… that that's over." Cyborg groaned. "I'm never gonna get this goop outta my circuits…"

"Aw, lighten up." Robin moaned. "At least they didn't make us clean ALL of it up. Just the big puddle in the center."

"Riiiight… the puddle that was roughly a half-mile in diameter and covered the width of that whole crater?" Sub-Zero reminded him dryly, rolling his crimson eyes.

"Even though the cleanup procedure afterwards was unpleasant… I am glad that everyone got out. People could have been hurt…" Starfire reminded them.

"She's right, ya'll." Cy agreed. "It could have been a LOT worse than it was."

The Titans had just finished helping the military clean most of the black goo that had splattered a large portion of the city after Behemoth had been defeated. Although it hadn't been easy, they had managed to clean things up pretty well and repair work on the area was already underway.

Terra groaned softly. "That stuff really stunk… smelled like… dead fish or something..."

"Yeah, well, everybody's got a shower in their rooms. It would probably be a good idea to use 'em, cus… between the thirteen of us…" Mammoth sniffed mid-sentence. "… We smell like shit."

"… That was the brightest thing you've suggested all day." Raven murmured dryly under her breath.

As everyone agreed, they split apart and started off towards their individual rooms to try and wash the stink of the black slime off themselves.

'Thank goodness there's one in the basement bathroom, too…' Ghost thought. '… If I'm going to do it tonight, then I've got to look nice. And this time, I will make SURE that Starfire is not within a 100 foot radius.'

He had been pondering on it ever since Behemoth had been defeated. And as nervous as he was, he couldn't stand to wait any longer either. It was eating him up, and he didn't know why. But… every single time he so much as glanced at Raven… he felt as if someone had just grabbed him by the shoulders and twirled him in a circle: dizzy, hot-in-the-face, and heart pounding.

He couldn't help but wonder why he felt this way. Was he really in love? Could love really hit someone that suddenly? The moment he had looked at Raven, he'd felt it… although, ever since then, it had only gotten stronger and stronger… and he didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Ok… I've just got to remember the plan… act calm, speak clearly, smile, look dashing, and…" His shoulders drooped sadly. "… Try not to go into cardiac arrest on the spot. Oh, Who am I kidding? I can't do this!"

He huffed and plopped down on the rocking chair in his newly acquired 'room.' He sat there a couple minutes, deep in thought… and then he realized that he could really use some more advice…

"Everything Robin told me was good, but… I just think I need some more help. I can't do this on my own…" he muttered crossly.

And suddenly, the idea hit him.

He sprouted his big black wings and flapped up into the air, vanishing through the roof with a cloud of black fog.

* * *

Sub-Zero mumbled grumpily to himself as he scrubbed the black stains out of his pearly-white robes. Thankfully, it had only gotten on the arms and legs because his chest and shoulder area was covered by his blue armor.

"Aw man…. I really hope this foul stuff is not in my hair…" He groaned to himself, running a hand through his snowy locks worriedly. "It would take forever to get out…"

Deciding not to worry about it, he managed to get his mind back to the task at hand. He tossed his dirty robes aside, having changed into clean ones, and instead decided to clean his armor a bit. He reached down and took the large chestpiece off, amazed at the sudden weight off his shoulders. He wore the stuff so often and was so used to it that he felt like a feather when he took it off.

Sitting it down on a table, he grabbed a rag out of his closet. He conjured up a spray of water and hosed the armor down before starting to slowly run the rag in circles along the surface of the ornate, icy blue armor.

As he did so, he stared at his reflection… and also at the long scar that now marred one eye… and he stopped and stared. He didn't know why, but… everytime he saw it, he felt ashamed. Not that he was a vain person, but… he couldn't help but wonder what Jinx thought of it… she hadn't said anything about it, but he couldn't help but fear that she found it ugly or repulsive.

"… You're worrying over nothing…" He reassured himself sternly. "Jinx isn't shallow, nor would she care about one little scrape."

His monologue was cut short when a human head suddenly materialized from the surface of his armor with a puff of black mist. "Pardon me…"

"**_AAAAH_**!" He yelled and stumbled back, drawing his sword in the process so that he wound up sitting there awkwardly holding a shaky blade.

"… Oh dear… did I come at a bad time?" Ghost, because that was who it was, asked nervously.

"… MUST you make a habit of popping up like that?" Zero asked. "Sheesh… I think I almost had a heart attack…"

Ghost winced and started to fade from sight. "I'm sorry… perhaps it would be better to leave an—"

"No!" Zero interrupted, feeling like a jerk. "I mean… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout… you just startled me a bit, that's all. What do you need?"

Ghost fully materialized and flapped up to the ceiling, grabbing on to a wooden beam with his sandal-clad feet, hanging like a bat. "Well… I kind've… need some advice…" He said slowly, careful of his wording.

"Really? What kind of advice?" Zero asked interestedly.

Ghost went slightly red in the face, though it was hard to see because he was so darkly tanned. "Eh, well… you see…" He tried to think of the proper word. "… Romantic advice."

Sub-Zero stared for a second, and then broke into a wide grin. "Well, why didn't you say so? That's great!" He laughed. "So who is the object of your affections, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"…. Uh… that's… sort've the thing… you may be a bit surprised to know."

"It can't be anyone here in the tower. They're all taken." Zero said, blinking.

Ghost sighed heavily. "That's the exact same thing Robin said."

There was a very long pause. Zero was a little slower on the uptake than Robin, apparently…

"…"

"… Wait… you don't mean…" Sub-Zero suddenly looked incredulous. "Raven?"

"… Yes, actually."

Sub-Zero smiled again, but more of a sad one this time. "… I… I'm… not sure what to tell you. I mean… Raven's not exactly…"

"That type of person." Ghost finished for him. "Yes, I've heard. But please, just humor me for a moment: If I was planning on… oh, say…" He trailed off, not sure of how to best put it.

"… Make the first move?" Sub-Zero suggested.

"… Yes. If I was going to, then… what should I do? How should I go about it?"

Zero plopped down in a cushy-seated wooden chair and put his chin on one hand in the 'thinker' position. "Well… this IS Raven, we're talking about, so… I would say… get to the point. Don't beat around the bush, so to speak."

"… Yeah?"

"Yeah. And also, don't talk too much. Less is more. Raven's not big on conversation when she can avoid it, so… just try to say the most with the least, y'know?"

"Got it. Anything else?"

Zero shrugged sheepishly. "Other than that… just… try to look nice. And… Above… all…"

"… Yes?"

Zero looked at him with a solemn expression. "… Wait for the opportune moment, Mate."

"Arigato." Ghost sighed, relieved. "This makes things a bit easier."

"No problem." Zero said. "Any time I can be of help, just ask."

… Ghost started floating off through the floor again, fading out…

"Hey, uh… wait a moment…" Zero said suddenly.

Ghost, only his shoulders and head still visible, looked back up at him. "Hm?"

"Well… actually… would you mind giving ME some advice?" Zero asked slowly.

Ghost blinked in disbelief. "Well… of course not, but… I don't know how much help I would be…"

"Just… answer one thing honestly. Which do you think a person cares about—not any particular person, just… people in general—the outside or the inside?"

Ghost cocked his head like a confused dog. "I… I'm afraid I don't follow you, Old Chap…"

Zero groaned and slapped his forehead, trying to think of a better way to say what he felt. "I mean… If somebody was… still the same person, that they've always been, but… they looked a little bit… different… a little bit less…" He suddenly turned slightly, sitting back in the chair. "… Less attractive, maybe… then… would they care…?"

Ghost stared. Zero was gazing off into nowhere apparently… until Ghost actually followed his line of sight and realized that he was staring at a small square mirror on the wall nearby.

"Well… to be quite honest…" Ghost started. "… I really don't think that one would care at all about another's appearance, so long that their actual persona has remained unaltered and still the same as it was. And flatly…" Ghost actually smiled widely. "… I REALLY don't think you should be making such a big deal of a little scratch."

Zero did a double take. "… How… did you…?"

"Call it an educated guess. Look, I haven't known Jinx for very long at all, but… I've seen evidence… probably far more than I should have…" He added under his breath. "… That she cared very deeply for you. And if she's at all like she seems, she still likes you for who you are… regardless of any sort've of scar or blemish." He assured.

… There was a long period of silence.

"… Ghost, I… thanks…" Zero said softly.

"Anytime I can be of help." The ninja repeated the knight's statement from earlier.

* * *

"Aw, c'mon, that was just cheap!" Cyborg protested as he watched the "PLAYER ONE WINS" message flash across the top of the screen.

Mammoth chuckled. "Who cares? I won, didn't I?"

As Cyborg glowered and squeezed his controller, Beast Boy and Robin couldn't help but stare.

"Whoa… I think that's the first time that I've ever seen Cy lose that game…" Beast Boy said in amazement.

"No… he lost once before to Sub-Zero too, remember?" Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was more luck than anything." Beast Boy snickered. "Zero is just one lucky guy like that, when you think about it… I mean, all the times he's come close to getting badly hurt, but avoided it somehow…"

Their conversation was cut short by a loud ringing at the main door of Titans Tower.

"Hey Jinx, could you get the door?" Cy asked. "Me and Mammoth are kinda busy here."

Jinx, who was playing chess with Gizmo in the corner scowled. "And what makes that video game more important than our chess game?" She demanded.

The door rang again insistently…

"Chill guys; I'll get it." Smoke volunteered, getting up from the chair he'd been lounging in nearby.

"Thanks." Robin said as the gunman walked off.

"… Alright. Let's do this again… NO cheap tactics this time." Cyborg said with a mock glare at Mammoth.

"Sure… and no sore losers, either." Mammoth countered.

A few minutes passed in silence as they stared at the TV screen, intent on beating each other. Jinx and Gizmo carried on with their game of chess while Robin and Beast Boy went on about their daily routine.

But just as things were starting to calm down, the silence was abruptly broken.

There was a loud 'boom' sound from downstairs… and abruptly Smoke came flying up the stairwell at high speed, right before slamming comically into the wall and sliding off.

"… Uuuurgh…" He managed to look over at Mammoth. "Hey… Bubba… it's for you… uugh…"

Everyone stared incredulously.

"… _MAMMOTH_!" A loud, angry, feminine scream was coming from downstairs… "I_ know you're in here, you big good-for-nothing_!"

… And instantly, Mammoth looked mortified, got up, and hauled ass out of the room.

"Hey! Wait a minute; I was just about to beat you!" Cyborg protested.

Starfire and Robin, who had both heard the loud noise, were just coming back into the room in time to see Mammoth running out like a bat out of Hell.

"What's wrong with him?" Robin demanded. "And what's that noise? Who's down there?"

Smoke groaned and spat out a few chunks of cement from the wall as he sat up. "Grr… some chick named Shimmer that's got a mean kick…"

Before he could say anything else, Gizmo and Jinx both got looks of terror on their faces at the word 'Shimmer', much like Mammoth had before, and got up so fast that the chess board went tumbling to the floor, scrambling down the hallway without a word.

Robin stared. "Ok… I'm guessing that they know something we don't…"

* * *

Ghost, blissfully unaware of the uninvited visitor downstairs, was trying in vain to get his heart rate back down to normal. He half walked, half hovered up the stairs from the basement and up to the level where Raven's room was located, no longer wearing a trenchcoat. Instead, he was only in his gray and red ninja getup and only carried his katana with him. His monocle gleamed strangely as though he'd spent far too much time cleaning and polishing it…

But perhaps most unusually, he gripped a large bouquet of black-and-white flowers in his left hand, courtesy of an ever-resourceful Robin, holding them behind his back as though to conceal them.

'I hope Robin was right about the flowers…' He thought with a gulp.

He also had planned out what to say, according to Zero's advice, but… he was far too nervous to remember it. So he was just gonna have to wing it…

He approached the door to her room, staring about pensively. No one else was within sight or earshot. He took a deep breath, reached for the door… but then, slowly pulled his hand back.

… He needed a minute. Just to calm down a bit.

Sliding down onto the floor in a relaxed sitting position, he sighed and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths in. He kept murmuring to himself: "I can do this… I can do this…"

Finally, he got back up, and knocked on the door lightly. "… Uh… Raven? Raven…? Are you in there?"

… There was silence on the other side of the door.

"It's me, Ghost. Please, I'm sorry if I've come at the wrong time, it's just that… I need to speak with you if you have a moment."

Still, there was only quiet air in response.

"… Raven…?"

Finally, getting a little bolder, he actually reached out and opened up the door, slowly peeking in as he did so.

Her room was dimmed, with a few lamps and candles lighting the room. It was completely empty, hence the lack of response.

"She's not here…" He sighed. "Then… I'd better get out. She wouldn't like me looking around in here…"

He started to walk out again, but couldn't help but stare at the room a bit longer. There was a large gray bookshelf on the left wall filled with row after row after shelf after tier of books… all of them thick, dusty novels of various titles and volumes. Although Ghost could read none of it, he still found them very appealing just to look at.

His gaze turned towards a dresser in the corner on which one of her blue cloaks was folded neatly. Walking over, he took a good look at the dresser and admired the shimmering surface of the gray wood it was built from.

… But… as he was walking off, prepared to leave her room, he accidentally knocked the cloak off to the ground.

Hastily picking it up and folding it, he placed it back on the dresser, but not before noticing something he had not before… there, under the cloak, there was a small, round hand-mirror…. And he was instantly fascinated.

The mirror was made from what looked like some dark gray stone, but smoothly formed with nary a crack or crevice. It was cold to the touch, and felt a bit like marble. A large red jewel was set into the stone near the top, and four decorative horns were carved into the frame on all sides. Perhaps it was just the candlelight playing tricks, but… the glass of the mirror itself seemed to have a strange foggy aura about it…

Snapping out of it and deciding to get out before she got back, Ghost started to put down the mirror, but it fell from his shaky hands and landed with a thump on the desk, causing him to cringe.

Something was happening in the glass…

… A glow… a sort've shine was coming from within. Ghost stared, as though hypnotized, when suddenly a blinding flash of light shot out from the mirror and washed over the room.

When it faded… there was a small mirror on the floor, with only a bouquet of flowers lying nearby.

Ghost was gone.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_Disclaimer: The Teen Titans aren't mine, nor are their siblings whom will be featured and are taken from the comic books._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Thirteen_**

"… Tell me, Doctor…" Trigon snarled in a barely audible rumble. "… How… do thirteen mortal teenagers… defeat, a 350 ton, seven hundred foot tall Arch-Demon…?"

"The same way they've defeated 100 ton heavily-armed robots, flesh-eating mutants, undead demons, and cutthroat criminals in the past." Myntull said nonchalantly from a small computer at a wooden desk built into the side of a rocky crevice. "They are simply much more formidable than you think."

"If Behemoth can't defeat them, I'll send Ziz. There's no need to deploy Leviathan or the reaper at this point." Trigon hissed, stroking his red chin with a claw.

"Now, now, we mustn't be hasty, M'lord. Perhaps we should build up our power for a bit… stockpile, if you will. If we can amass an army large enough, oh say… ten thousand demons or so? I'm sure that even the Teen Titans would not be able to cope."

'**TEN** **THOUSAND**?" Trigon roared loudly enough to make the demon dimension quiver. "That would take _weeks_… _Months_, even!"

Myntull cocked an eyebrow and grinned, showing gaps in his strangely white teeth between his puffy mustache. "You've waited a millennia… why not another month or so? Besides…" He pressed a few buttons on his computer, and beckoned Trigon to look. "I think… that they're going to have enough on their hands as it is without us."

Growling impatiently, Trigon sat up from his throne of bones and stomped over to the Cliffside nearby. He propped himself on a craggy peak and glared down at the relatively tiny computer monitor Myntull was motioning to.

There on the screen, set against a background of empty black space and glimmering stars, was what looked to be a spaceship. It was metallic-purple in color with emerald-tinted windows and red designs.

"What is that?" Trigon demanded.

"That… is a class-5 Tamaranean space-frigate, of the nobility variety." Myntull explained.

"What is it doing here?"

"Well, judging from some communiqués I stole remotely from their system, it belongs to one "Ryand'r" of the Tamaranean Royal Family. He seems to have the highest authority of all the living members, including…" His eyes sparkled maliciously. "… That wretched alien brat that The Boy Wonder is so attached to."

"Didn't they realize you hacked their technology?" Trigon asked suspiciously.

"Bah! Do you know whom you're talking to? It was easy enough to make my intrusion seem like a minor technical error in their systems. Believe me, there is NO-ONE in this galaxy that I would not be able to hack. And I must say, your minions stole me some delightful toys…" He cackled gleefully, referring to the hi-tech looking computer he was working at.

"And It does me no good whatsoever!" Trigon bellowed. "Why is this ship so significant?"

"… If all goes according to plan—THEIR plan, that is…. Then the Titans are in for a very large distraction. We can use this to our advantage. I can begin work on the warbots immediately, and you have an abundance of time in which to begin spawning those dear little minions of yours."

"… Excellent…"

* * *

**_Just Above The Earth's Atmosphere_**

"How long before that teleporter is ready?" A young Tamaranean man asked impatiently. He wore a full suit of shining purple armor that covered everything from his feet to his neck, with a long black cape flowing down the back. His hair was long and red, tied into a short ponytail, and eyes green, like most Tamraneans.

"It should be adequately prepared within the next hour your majesty." A nearby guard, clad in a robe and helmet with a spear, responded.

"Good." The boy said, sitting back down in his chair. He appeared to be no older than perhaps fifteen, and was roughly the same height as Robin although perhaps an inch or so shorter. "… I don't care what that old fool Galfore says; my sister will accompany back to Tamaran if I have to drag her by the hair! Recent reports have made it excruciatingly clear that she's hiding something down there… we haven't received any messages from her in some time now…"

"With all due respect, Your Eminence, perhaps she has just been busy and absent-minded of late, and has forgotten to send us transmissions." The guard suggested. "… Koriand'r would not keep secrets from us."

"I know she wouldn't… unless she thought it was of the gravest importance." The young man responded grimly, sitting down in a throne-like Captain's chair. "… I cannot help but entertain the feeling that she is deliberately attempting to avoid contact with us. Make no mistake; I love my sister dearly, but… if she is withholding something from us, then appropriate actions must be taken."

"Appropriate actions…?" The guard asked.

"… She is becoming far too attached to that little rock called Earth." Ryand'r sighed. "… I will admit, it is quite quaint and charming once you get past its horribly primitive technology and society. But… even so, she cannot remain there forever. Her home is on Tamaran, no matter what Galfore says. If I find it necessary, I will return her to Tamaran at once, by force if I must."

"… I see…"

Ryand'r looked over at him curiously. "… You sound troubled… what is disturbing you?"

"Well, Your Highness… her friends on that planet are very protective of her. What if, hypothetically, they were to attempt to defy your authority and allow her to stay with them…?"

There was a pause, in which nothing was said.

Then, the boy smirked cockily and removed something from his belt. It looked like the hilt of a sword, except very hi-tech and covered with various lights and vents. Red, green, and purple jewels were adorned into the sleek silver metal for decoration. Lifting it up in the air, he gave the hilt a sudden squeeze and a jet of crackling green plasma energy in the shape of a blade erupted forth, forming a lethal-looking plasma sword. He hefted it back, and then hurled it effortlessly across the room.

_BZZZHING_!

The sizzling blade protruded from a small planet labeled "Earth" on a map of the Milky Way which was mounted on a far wall.

The guard blinked bemusedly. "… You… make a point quite vividly, Prince Ryand'r."

* * *

The first thing Ghost saw upon waking up was stars.

As he slowly opened his eyes and groaned, rubbing his head groggily, he saw a vast expanse of what looked like a night sky: bluish-black dotted with glimmering dots.

Sitting up and adjusting his monocle, he looked around at the rest of his surroundings.

He seemed to be on a long stretch of rough rock, seemingly just… floating. A thin mountainous pathway in the void of some strange space, with stars and various red shapes and lights set against a dark horizon, as if someone had splotched a giant piece of black cloth with splats of blood.

… To be blunt, it scared the bejesus out of him...

"Am I dreaming…?" He asked himself softly. And then, with a shiver, he added. "… Or is it a nightmare?"

There was only dead silence, except for what sounded like the whisper of a nonexistent wind.

"… Oh come on, it's not that bad."

Reflexively, Ghost drew his katana and whipped around to face whomever was speaking. "Wh-who's there?" He demanded shakily.

He turned in circles, looking all about but he saw no one.

"Aw… it's just little old me."

Once again, he whipped around and this time he swung his katana as though to slice at something behind him… but there was nothing. Thoroughly freaked by this time, he called out. "C-c-c-come out! Sh-show yourself!"

"… (giggle)… I'm touched. I didn't know you wanted to see me THAT badly."

"Who are you?" He called out into the black nothingness around him.

"… Teehee… you're so cute when you're terrified out of your wits!"

"Please… I'm asking you one last time: who are you? And show yourself!"

…

… Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder… and nearly jumped out of his skin. After recovering from the shock he turned around only to see…

"… Raven?" Ghost stammered, eyes wide as tires.

"Of course it's me. Or at least, one of me." Raven said… except that she was smiling… and… wearing pink…

"Why… why are you…" He blinked. "… In pink?"

"Pink's my favorite color!" She bubbled, grabbing her cloak and bundling up, nuzzling it.

"… It… is?" He asked, dumbstruck. "But… wait… what are you doing here? Where are we?"

"Um…" Raven, such as she was, tapped her index fingers together awkwardly… a very unusual gesture for her. "… Well… that's kinda hard to explain… see, we're in Raven's head."

He stared, jaw dropping. "But… YOU'RE Raven!"

"Well, I'm **A** Raven… but I'm not **The** Raven."

He groaned and rubbed his temples. "Kami… I think I need to sit down..."

* * *

"Uhh… Look… really… I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but… I'll have to ask you to refrain from smacking my friends into walls." Zero said calmly as he helped Smoke up.

Shimmer was a teenaged girl wearing a black-leather outfit that left her midriff and legs completely exposed. Her eyes were dark blue, and had various black designs tattooed around them… not unlike her legs, which also displayed numerous tattoos. Her hair was short and unkempt, forming a shock of reddish-brown locks over her head. Her lips were thickly coated with black lipstick, and her eyelids were done dark purple with makeup. She was actually a bit shorter than Jinx, but appeared taller because of her platform heels.

"… Which one of you was it…?" She demanded.

Robin blinked, still a bit confused by all this. "Which one of us was what?"

"WHICH ONE OF YOU TURNED MY BROTHER INTO SOME SPINELESS GOODY TWO-SHOES!" She screeched, causing everyone's ears to ring.

"Look Lady, we don't even know who your damn brother is!" Blackfire spat, already pissed at the girl for attacking Smoke. "Now why don't you just take that attitude of yours, and sho—"

"Mammoth!" Shimmer interrupted. "He was just here! I know it! And if you've made one scratch on him, I swear I'll—"

"Wait a minute… Mammoth is your brother?" Robin asked bemusedly, almost dropping his staff with shock.

"Idiot! OF COURSE Mammoth is my brother. Why else would I be here ranting and raving over his safety?"

"His safety? But he's fine!" Robin protested.

"Fine? FINE? He's a Teen Titan! You call that, FINE?"

Cyborg stomped into the room, glaring ill-tempered at them. "Jesus! What's all the ruckus down—" He suddenly noticed Shimmer's presence. "—here…?"

"Stay outta this, Tin Man!" Shimmer snarled. Then, she turned back to Robin. "I'm asking you one, last, time… WHERE… is my brother?"

"He heard you comin' and ran off that way!" Robin said rolling his eyes and pointing down the hallway.

"… Then I'll just have to go after him…" A wicked smile suddenly spread across Shimmer's face. "… After I KILL you!"

Without warning, Shimmer broke into a run and did a flying kick at Robin's face, her platform boot connecting with his jaw in a cracking pop; he went flying across the room into a chair, which overturned with him onto the ground.

Unfortunately for Shimmer, she found herself blasted by a massive green ray of energy shortly afterward, sending her doubling over onto the floor.

"Do not ever harm Robin!" Star hissed. She charged up a few more energy bolts and sent them flying at Shimmer at high speed.

**BOOM!**

Shimmer rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a mini-mushroom cloud of green energy and leapt to her feet. She dashed forward, dodging a few blasts of energy and leaping at Starfire.

Star cried out as Shimmer grabbed her from the air in a headlock, and twisted her neck violently. She held up her free hand on which her long painted nails seemed almost like knives. "Take one more step, and your little alien wench gets it!"

Robin froze, as did everyone else in the room. But then…

… _BZZAPOW!_

A sudden violet ball of energy, courtesy of a severely pissed Blackfire, violently scorched Shimmer across the face and caused her to lose her grip, and Starfire promptly elbowed her in the gut and slapped her across the face, knocking her several feet away.

Sub-Zero stepped up. "I hate to strike a lady… but then again, I've no qualms against kicking dogs!" He snarled, holding out his hands. "FREEZE!"

_WOOSH!_

A cloud of icy fog erupted from his palms as a thick freeze ray launched outwards, leaving a trail of spiky icicles on the ground behind it and a puff of snowflakes in the air.

With inhuman reflexes, Shimmer rolled to the side and leapt up, firing a sudden spray of sparkling red air at Zero's ice beam…

**_KKKSSSHHT!_**

The two attacks met in midair and, suddenly, Zero's icy blast vaporized into a harmless, watery mist and drifted away before causing any damage.

Zero froze, no pun intended. "… What… the…?"

"Heheheh… Fool! I can transmute matter. That means, I can turn your pathetic little ice attacks into harmless water vapor! HA!" She rolled forward and sprung back up with an uppercut punch that sent Zero stumbling back against the wall.

"Oh no you DIDN'T!" Smoke roared angrily, raising his dart gun. "Sorry she-bitch, but it's time for you to take a nap!"

_FWEET! FWEET! FWEET!_

Smoke pumped the trigger three times in rapid succession, shooting a trio of large wicked looking tranquilizer darts hurtling through the air towards Shimmer.

She whipped around and smirked, firing off some more glimmering red mist.

The mist enveloped the projectiles in midair and dissolved them into a puff of sand, which promptly fell to the floor in a useless heap.

"Those darts are made of pure metal, are they not? I can transmute them into whatever I please!" She sneered, grabbing a nearby table in both hands and hurling it at Smoke.

Gritting his teeth with aggravation, Smoke put away his dart gun and rushed Shimmer as if to punch her in the face. She ran forward too and did the same.

POW!

Their fists collided together with a crack, and they pushed against each other.

"You're strong…" Shimmer purred in a venomous tone. "… I like that in a man. How's about ditching these losers and joining me?"

"Sorry, Shimmer. I'm… Not into other guys..." Smoke glowered. "Eat fire!"

Smoke yanked his arm back and flexed. The mechanical limb whirred and clanked as it shifted and switched, folding back to reveal a large nozzle.

**SSHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRR!**

A powerful jet of crackling flames spewed forth from his arm's built-in flamethrower, packing enough heat to burn Shimmer badly.

Shimmer quickly did a cartwheel backwards to avoid the fire and hurled another cloud of shiny red gas at the flames.

"Let's see how much good fire does you when it's turned into toxic gas!" Shimmer cackled.

The fire hissed and swirled, flashing with light. Suddenly, it was replaced by a cloud of noxious green gas. Shimmer took a deep breath, and blew the gas towards Smoke.

Before he could react, the foul vapor permeated his lungs and scorched his throat. He crumpled to his knees, coughing and hacking violently.

"No!" Blackfire moaned, flying over and seizing Smoke. She lifted him out of the cloud of gas, holding her breath so as not to breathe it herself, and carried him to a nearby chair, where he gasped and wheezed like a fish out of water.

Shimmer stood in place, hands on her hips and sneering cockily. … That is, until a Bo Staff collided with her head, sending her sprawling over onto the couch, spread eagled.

Before she could get up, Robin leapt onto the arm of the couch and start beating her with the staff, his blows cracking painfully.

**THWACK**! "That's for Starfire!" **THWACK**! "That's for Zero!" **THWACK**! "That's for Smoke!" **THWACK**, **THWACK**, **THWACK**! "… And those were for being an evil bitch!"

Robin grabbed Shimmer by the throat and hefted her up. She was pretty bruised and bleeding slightly from the hairline. "Now… are you about ready to give up…?"

She suddenly brought a knee up into his gut, causing him to double over and release his hold. Then, she grabbed his neck in her legs with a scissor-like motion and tossed him over the side of the couch.

Sitting up, she scowled. "I'll give up when you're dead!"

She got to her feet and walked over to a wooden stool. Grabbing it, her hands flashed red. The glow spread downwards onto the stool, slowly creeping across its wooden surface… and with a flash, it was turned into solid stone. She grabbed it and lifted it up threateningly as she approached Robin, who was only just recovering from the blow…

Abruptly, the now-stone stool began glowing with a golden light. It floated out of her hands of its own accord.

"… What… the… Hell…?" Shimmer demanded.

**BAM!**

The stool swatted her against a wall like a baseball bat, causing her to slide off groaning.

Terra, Cyborg, and Beast Boy had been sitting the fight out till now, but they were tired of seeing their friends beaten up. Terra's glowing eyes gave away that she was the one manipulating the stool.

"Y'know, you REALLY shouldn't turn stuff into rock while I'm around." Terra said mockingly. "Beast Boy, sic 'er!"

"Yes Ma'am!" He shouted, transforming himself into a large, green dog.

He howled ferally and pounced on Shimmer. He snarled and began clawing at her face and chest, nipping at her with his fangs. Fighting off a normal rabid dog is hard enough, but one with enhanced size and strength is even more difficult.

Finally, however, Shimmer managed to shove him off and kick him away.

She stumbled to her feet… but only to get blasted in the gut by a blinding sonic beam. She screamed and lit up as her body slammed against the window of the room, bouncing off like a limp rag doll and leaving a blood-stained crack in the window.

Sub-Zero and Smoke had both recovered at this point, and figured it was time to put an end to this.

Smoke worked up an electric charge and wound up like a baseball pitcher.

"Hey, Drag Queen! How's about a little shock-therapy?" He laughed.

With a grunt and a swing of his good arm, he hurled a lightning bolt at her, once more lighting her up with energy and causing her hair to stand on end with a loud crackling and eruption of colorful sparks and steam.

"_Grrr_…._rrrgggh_…" Sub-Zero gripped the handle of his hammer with enough force to turn his knuckles even whiter than usual—which was already pretty damn white. He seemed to be working himself into a rage. "_Hhmph_… **_AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH_**!"

He rushed the stunned Shimmer with his hammer and swung with as much strength as he could muster.

_**C-RACK!**_

The flat side of his hammer connected devastatingly with her left temple, knocking her head to the side painfully. She stood there for a moment, swaying and swooning on her feet, then crumpled to the ground; she was out like a broken light.

For a moment, all was quiet. Nothing was said, and nobody moved.

Finally, there was a sudden creaking as the door opened to the room…

… And Gizmo, Mammoth, and Jinx poked their heads out.

"… Is she Ok?" Mammoth asked.

Robin groaned. "Her? What about us?"

"Yeah." Cyborg agreed. "Why weren't you helping?"

The trio just stood there looking awkward.

"Well, Um…" Jinx couldn't think of what to say.

"She's my sister. How am I supposed to hit her?" Mammoth protested.

"… Shimmer is scary." Gizmo whimpered bluntly.

"Is she OK?" Mammoth repeated. "Look, I know she roughed you guys up and all, but… she's still my Sister."

"Yeah. Don't worry, she ain't dead or anything." Cyborg assured him. "Here… Zero, help me get her… take her down to the infirmary. Smoke, get some of that tranquilizer juice of yours… it lasts a lot longer than mine."

"Sure." Smoke snickered. "It's designed for African Elephants."

As Zero grabbed Shimmer and toted her down to the infirmary, Cyborg grinned wryly at Mammoth. "Look man, I know you my Dawg and all, but… I'm gonna need you to keep your relatives in check, Bro…"

It was at this point, Terra pointed out something no-one had noticed. "Hey…" Her blue eyes blinked confusedly. "… Where's Raven? And Ghost?"

* * *

Raven, as a matter of fact, was up on the roof meditating—completely oblivious to anything that had just happened downstairs.

For the last few minutes, however, she'd had some problems.

Normally, the roof was the ideal place for her to meditate: quiet, peaceful, solitary… but… for whatever the reason, she was having trouble keeping her focus. And twice now, she had found herself giggling—yes, giggling.—for absolutely no apparent reason… and it was starting to freak her out a little.

She strained her eyes shut, trying to keep her focus, but… after only a couple minutes of meditation, her mind started wandering again.

"This is ridiculous." She murmured darkly to herself.

Finally, giving up, she decided that maybe some peaceful sleep might do her mind some good. So, she got up and started walking down into the Tower towards her room.

Something was bugging her, but… she just couldn't put her finger on what. It was like there was some distraction in the back of her mind that she wasn't even aware of, keeping her from focusing on anything.

… And more worryingly, most of her mind-wanderings had been focused around one individual…

… Ghost.

She walked the floors down to her room, not even bothering to use the elevator or teleport. She was too distracted to think of it. Finally, she opened her door and walked into her room.

Removing her cloak, she stumbled over to her bedside, yawning silently. But just as she started to lie down, she stepped on something… soft. She looked down, and her eyes almost bugged out.

There at her feet was a large bouquet of flowers in monotone colors of jet-black and white. Most people might find it odd, but… Raven actually kind of found it lovely.

Staring, she reached down and picked the flowers up.

"… What… in Azar…" She mumbled to herself.

… First the distractions… then flowers had inexplicably appeared in her room. At this point, she was almost freaked out, and yet… who had done this? Who would have put this here to be found?

Deciding that she would worry about it later, she laid down and covered herself with a blanket, intent on giving her mind some peaceful rest.

… She never noticed that her mirror wasn't quite in the same spot she'd left it…

**_Well, I finally got this chapter done. And more importantly, I should have the next chapter of Moonlight Maelstrom up in the next couple days at most, and possibly even tomorrow. As you might be able to tell, we have now officially entered what I'll refer to the "Siblings" arc of my fic. So far we've met Shimmer and Ryand'r… but there's one more. Who? Well, you'll see…_**

**_Anyway, I apologize for not having this chapter up sooner; I'll try to do better in the future. Thanks for the reviews so far guys; they really keep me going, even though I might be going a little slowly. _**

**_--Count Le Madphantom…_**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_Discalimer: I do not own the Teen Titans in any way._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Fourteen**_

A blonde teenaged boy, tall and lanky with well-tanned skin and deep blue eyes, yawned tiredly and stretched out on the blanket under him. His eyes, half-closed with drowsy laziness, stared wistfully up at a dim, nighttime sky filled with stars…

He wore a dark-green T-shirt with a brown jacket and jeans, and there was a pair of shades on his forehead. He wore hiking boots on his feet and had a small blue surfboard with a lightning-bolt logo on it tied to his back.

He yawned lightly, not really asleep, but not really awake. Something was keeping him up, though he wasn't sure what. It was just this crazy feeling something was about to happen.

With a wave of his hand, a small rock, upon which a glass of lemonade was situated, floated over on its own to his hand to give him easy access to the glass without having to get up. He grabbed it and took a large swig before gulping it down and belching loudly.

"… Ahh… now this is the life…"

As he stared up at the sky, he saw tiny streaks of light zipping across the azure horizon. Falling stars, tumbling and plummeting downward in the distance, ranging from white, to blue, to yellow, and everything in between...

* * *

"Sir, the teleporter is ready. We are ready to transport you to the Earth's surface when you are ready." A guard with a deep voice and fiery-red beard barked from the doorway.

As the gleaming purple inner-walls of the ship cast an ethereal glow across Ryand'r's face, he smiled.

"Good. Were you able to find the exact coordinates?"

"No sir. We are going to have to send you down to a spot nearby… it seems quite suitable: an old stretch of coastline on the western part of the continent. No one seems to use it, and at this hour, I am sure it is devoid of human presence. No one will notice your approach."

"I see… how can I get to the Tower?"

"We… well… frankly, we are not sure. I regret that we cannot send you straight there, but this teleporter would require the exact location of their Tower, which we do not have… my only suggestion would be to question the local populace. The Titans are well-known on Earth, and I am sure they can tell you."

"… Right. Then I should leave at once."

As he got up from his throne, a few cloaked guards with spears made as though to follow him. But he stopped them and spoke sternly.

"No. We cannot have an entire platoon of warriors on the surface… we need to be as discreet as possible." His emerald eyes flashed. "… I am going alone."

Most likely, they would have argued had it not been for the fact that he was higher in rank. Besides, he would not have listened anyway.

Making sure his sleek purple body-armor was on securely, he fastened the hilt of his plasma sword to his waist and tightened his ponytail of red locks.

The ship's teleportation system was designed for ship-to-ship use; personnel deployment was usually conducted via landing. But landing a Tamaranean frigate on Earth, no matter how isolated the landing zone, was out of the question… it would attract far too much attention. So the teleporter had been modified to warp him straight to the surface.

As he stood in the tube-like structure that was the teleporter, the front end of it slid closed with a transparent screen of green glass. A few technicians in crimson robes worked the teleporter controls, firing it up.

There was a deafening buzz, like an airplane soaring overheard, and the machine began to glow, the noise making the entire ship seem to vibrate.

"Teleporter activated… transferring him… now…" A technician muttered, pressing a few buttons on a floating keypad that was seemingly made out of light..

The noise grew louder and was accompanied by the crashing and banging of the machines inner workings, and a torrent of blue light flooded the chambers.

There was a popping noise, and a puff of smoke. The room went dead silent. When the light cleared, he was gone and the machine was empty.

* * *

… Just as the boy on the beach was dozing off to sleep, he heard a rather odd noise.

"… ahhhhhh…" Off in the distance, a cry.

He opened his eyes groggily and sat up, yawning. He glanced around for the source of the sound but saw nothing.

"…. Ahhhhhh…!" The cry sustained itself, a bit louder now…

Dazed, the boy looked upward. The sound seemed to have been coming from the sky.

"… AHHHHHHHHHH…!" It was rapidly getting louder and clearer.

A bit spooked the boy got up and stared. All he saw were shooting stars… a particularly bright one was coming down now…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It was coming from the shooting star… which, much closer and clearer, seemed… purple…?

With a start, the boy realized that it was coming down… and coming straight for him. He yelped and started hauling away from the spot, leaping behind a large boulder and covering his head.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH_HHHHHHHHHH_**HHHHH_HHHHHHHHHHHHHH_**!"

_**BANG!**_

Something impacted the ground at great force, sending a large cloud of sand and dust into the air and making the ground shake momentarily. The boy coughed and waved his hand, trying to clear the air of sand. He couldn't see a thing through it.

Finally, the sand cloud cleared and he peeked out from behind the boulder, staring wide-eyed.

… There was a small crater knocked into the ground near the spot where he'd been laying. Before his eyes, it suddenly flickered… an otherworldly green glow seemed to emanate from it, and green mist rose up from it.

As he watched, he had to contain a gasp as he saw something move… something stirred in the crater, and sat up with a groan…

… It was a person… or at least, it appeared to be, but he could only make out its/their outline… suddenly, the silhouette stood up… stretched about and turned around…

… Giving the blonde boy a good look at a blazing pair of green eyes that seemed to be looking dead at him. But it must not have seen him, because it turned back around… and… spoke.

"… Imbeciles…! Put me in mid-troposphere, why don't you?" The thing muttered angrily.

Yep, it was Ryand'r.

At this point, the boy—not thinking—couldn't hold in his fascination any longer.

"Duuuude… righteous…!"

As the figure turned towards him, he covered his mouth and quickly withdrew behind the boulder again.

"… Who is that?" Ryand'r demanded. "Who is there?" Slowly, his hand traveled to the hilt of his blade.

The blonde boy slowly sidled out from behind the rock hesitantly. "… Dude… what… what are you? Some kinda far out alien?"

Ryand'r's green eyes narrowed. "… 'Far out'? Is that some sort of primitive insult?"

"Uh, No! Well, I mean, sometimes, but… no dude, I wasn't insulting you! Uh… Who are you, anyway? And how'd you—"

"I believe… I asked you the same." Ryand'r said coldly.

"Oh yeah, sorry Spaceman. Name's Brion. Brion Markov… friends call me Geo-Force…, or just Geo for short." The guy held out his lanky arm and extended a hand.

Ryand'r, apparently unused to the custom of shaking hands, stared.

"Uh… Right…" Geo withdrew his hand hastily. "… So… are you… like… an alien…?"

"I am Prince Ryand'r, current highest authority on Tamaran." He answered formally, bowing slightly.

"Dude… gnarly…" Geo said, impressed. "Never heard of it. Is that in Europe?"

"What? No! Tamaran is my home planet, and the largest center of—"

"So you ARE an alien! Excellent!" Geo laughed, flipping down his shades to cover his eyes… despite the fact that it was nighttime. "Dude, nobody'll ever believe this."

"Where is Titan's Tower?" Ryand'r demanded suddenly. "By the high authority I possess on behalf of the Tamaranean Royal Family, I order you to take me to Titan's Tower!"

"Whoa, whoa, easy! No need to harsh out, Spaceman." Geo insisted. "Now hang on… Titan's Tower? As in, of the Teen Titans?"

"Yes. Where is it? I must know!" Ryand'r said quickly.

"Dude… I hate to tell you Spaceman, but… that's in California."

Ryand'r stared blankly.

"Uh… we're in Florida…"

Said extraterrestrial continued to stare.

"… It's a looooong way that way." Geo said finally, pointing off in a direction.

Ryand'r turned around with a soft snarl and started muttering to himself. "Wonderful… those simpletons didn't even put me near where I was supposed to go…!"

"Dude… do you like, have business there or something? I don't think they'd let just anybody in…" Geo began.

"Just anyone?" Ryand'r sniffed looking highly affronted. "I am a prince!"

"Oh… yeah… forgot." Geo yawned, scratching his head. "Sorry, Spaceman… It's kinda late and I'm not all here tonight."

"… I never would have guessed." Ryand'r said icily. Then, he cleared his throat and asked. "What is the quickest route to this, California?"

"… (_Yawn_)… well… you could always take the bus, but you'd have to pay one hell of a fare." Geo suggested. "And then there's always the airport, but… that'd be just as expensive. You probably ain't got any Earth money, do you spacedude?"

"Erm… No…" Ryand'r said, shifting uncomfortably. "… I had not really planned on—"

"Well, then I'd say you're just gonna have to hitchhike." Geo said simply.

"Hitchhike? Like a lowly commoner? I'll do no such thing!" Ryand'r snapped.

"Easy! Man, you Talladegians sure are strung-out."

"Tamaraneans..." Ryand'r corrected, an anime-style vein throbbing in his head in aggravation.

"Right… that… Anyway, you really ought to chill out. Worrying isn't good for the health at all, Spaceman."

"Chill out? As in, calm myself? How can I do that when the very security of my planet is at stake?" He demanded. "This may not mean anything to you, Earthling, but my sister is currently residing in Titan's tower… and I fear she is hiding something."

"Sheesh, sisters are always a pain." Geo said sagely. "I used to have one m'self, until she upped and ran off. Can't say I blame her though… my parents are real jerkwads, y'know?"

"… Why are you telling me this?" Ryand'r asked bemusedly after a moment.

"Oh, no reason… just making some conversation."

"I have no time for talk! I must leave immediately! But… how?"

Geoforce sat down on his slightly-scorched beach blanket, and contemplated the situation. "Dude… you mean your whole planet's in trouble?" He asked after a moment.

"It is very possible. Secrets are never a good thing, especially when politics is involved. And besides, I fear my Sister may be being mistreated by those she has labeled as 'friends'. And she is very popular with the people; thus, what is bad for her, is bad for the whole planet."

"… Hmm… I know…"

Ryand'r blinked. "… You know what?"

"… I know how I might be able to help you out." Geo said. "… I've been meaning to take a vacation for a while now, and… well… see, I kinda need to get out of town…"

"Are you a fugitive?" Ryand'r asked sharply, suddenly looking wary.

"What? No, man. It's just… see… remember how I told you I used to have a Sister that ran off and how my parents were real dicks?"

"… Yes…"

"… Well, I got to thinking it was a pretty good idea. So I ran off too… and apparently, they got the whole police force out looking for me."

"So you want me for protection?" Ryand'r asked dryly.

"Nope. I can take care of that myself… that's why my friends call me Geo, dude."

With that, he waved his hand and grinned. The massive boulder he'd been hiding behind earlier suddenly rumbled and trembled, stirring up the sand… and floated up into the air.

As Ryand'r watched in shock, Geo made a motion as if he were throwing something… and the boulder promptly went soaring off the beach into the sea, where it skipped along the water several times like a giant pebble and finally sunk down into the water in an explosion of white foam and blue mist.

Ryand'r was speechless. "…. You… you're a geomancer. Incredible!"

"Uh… Dunno what a Gyrowanker is, Spaceman, but… Let's just say I bring a whole new meaning to the words, Rock n' roll." He replied with a smile. "Now look… here's the thing… I need to get out of here as quickly as possible. I was just hoping to catch some Z's one more time on this beach… it's my favorite hangout. But seein' as how you need help anyway… I'll give you a lift to California, and we'll both be square. How's that sound?"

Ryand'r nodded. "… I would be indebted to you. But… what means of Transportation do you have? Do you have a teleporter?"

"Dude, I have better…" Geo said slyly. "… I have a '69 Mercury Cougar."

Ryand'r stared. "… Pardon?"

* * *

"OK, Wait a minute… so you're… Raven's personality?" Ghost asked.

"One of them. There's a bunch besides me, Cutie." Happy Raven giggled. "But none of them are quite as pretty…" She said, slowly advancing on him in a rather unnerving manner.

"Uh… I… that is…" He gulped. "Look, I just need to know where the exit is! How do I get out of here?"

"What? You don't want to stay with me?" Happy Raven pouted.

"Oh, well… I mean, that would be lovely, but… I really need to get out of here before—"

"Oh fine, you Meanie." She bubbled, sticking her tongue out at him. Then, she pointed along the path ahead of him. "Go up that way, and take two lefts at the two forks. Then, when you get to the circle of rocks, just stand there and wait."

"Wait? For what?" He asked nervously.

"Oh, you'll see…" She giggled.

He turned and looked… the path ahead led off into the strange black void with no visible end in sight. He turned back to face her. "But what if—"

She was gone.

"… (Gulp)… I… I suppose I should press on." He mumbled to himself. Hesitantly, he started walking in the direction that Happy Raven had pointed out.

He walked on in a straight line for what felt like hours…

… Time and space were strange in Raven's head. A pathway that was apparently straight might be taking you one way at one moment, only to suddenly having you walking in another… with no visible turn in the path.

It also did funny things to a person's sense of perception. Small rocks on the rough pathway might suddenly become boulders the next time you looked around, and the stars and glowing orbs in the black horizon changed back and forth from red, to blue, to green, and all colors…

Ghost followed Happy Raven's directions. On the two forks in the path he came to, he took a left at both of them, just as she'd said. Then, he suddenly found himself on a path that was unlike the others. Not a straight line, rather, it was a zigzag shape, turning and jerking at jagged angles.

He followed the path, doing his best not to trip and fall… the path was narrow now, and a wrong step could send him plummeting to who-knows-what. Luckily, he had wings in case that happened, but still…

He yawned deeply and stopped for a moment, kneeling down to rest his legs. He rubbed his feet, aching as a dull, throbbing pain permeated through his sandals and right up into his toes.

"… _Ca_-**caw**!"

Ghost stared and gasped as he heard a shrill squawk from above. Turning his eyes upward slowly, he saw it.

There was a massive bird, maybe three and a half feet tall and very muscular, perched on the tip of a tall stone spire. It was covered in black feathers with a purple sheen, and had a glimmering golden-bronze colored beak that jutted out and curved downward in a sharp angle. Its eyes were red—not deep red, but a shiny bright red, like fire. It appeared to be some sort of strange… raven.

"…_Rawk! _Nevermore! Nevermore! _Rawk_!" It crowed in a high-pitched, throaty tone, scaring the crap out of Ghost.

"A… talking bird…?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"_Caw_, _caw_, no talk, no talk!" It rasped.

"Yes, you ARE talking!" Ghost said indignantly. "I've been talking most of my life; I think I know talking when I hear it!"

"_Squuuuaw_! You no talk! I talk! You listen! _Cah_…"

"… Uh… sure…" He stuttered, shutting up.

"Memories, you need. Memories I give. Things you forgot, you shall learn, only then you will live! _Rawk_!" It yapped loudly in a singsong voice.

The mention of memories caught Ghost off-guard. "… Excuse me…?"

"Stupid is as stupid does, you're stuck here forever, just because! _Rawk_!" It screeched.

An anime-style vein throbbed in Ghost's forehead as he gnashed his teeth. "Why you little—"

He made a lunge for the bird, but it flapped up in the air and flew off, causing Ghost to slam into the rock it was perched on. He groaned and slid to the ground, out cold…

* * *

Shimmer's vision swirled in and out of focus as she regained consciousness, feeling like she'd been bashed in the head with a giant hammer…

…. Then, she remembered she HAD, been bashed in the head with a giant hammer. And she was currently lying in a cot, with her hands chained firmly to the side rails, heavily bandaged and barely awake.

She was suddenly aware of someone gruffly clearing their throat from nearby.

"…Uh… eheheh… Hi?" That voice was very familiar…

She groaned and managed to look over…

There was Mammoth, holding a 'get well soon' card and giving a 'please don't kill me smile', along with Jinx and Gizmo, both with similar expressions.

"… _You_…"

"…(_Gulp_)… Uh… Nice to see you, too." Mammoth said gruffly after a minute.

There was a long awkward pause.

"How could you do this?" She demanded after a minute in a raspy voice; if she'd recovered her strength, it would have most likely been a screech.

"… What?" He said after a minute.

"You're a… a… hero!" She moaned, as though it were some sort of disease. "I thought I'd raised you right! I thought—"

"Wait a minute, calm down!" He insisted. "Look. Jinx joined the Teen Titans. Brother Blood got bitch-slapped big time… one thing led to another, and… well… here we are." He explained.

"Brother Blood…? By who?" She asked weakly.

"Uh… well…" He suddenly shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting about the room. "… Me."

"What?" She yelped. "Why?"

"Gizmo helped." He added hastily, as though this might take some of the heat off himself.

"Don't bring me into this, pig-brain!" The diminutive genius growled.

"Well, you did!"

"He was going to kill me, Shimmer." Jinx interrupted solemnly. "They saved my life."

"… Kill you? Why?"

"Look, Brother Blood's whole H.I.V.E. thing was a front." Gizmo stated matter-of-factly. "He had all of us under mental control the whole time… including you." He said, pointing to Shimmer. "He was using us as henchman for his dirty work, having us pull crimes that even WE normally wouldn't pull, and wiping our memory afterwards."

"He wiped our memory when Jinx joined the Titans." Mammoth agreed, wincing at the incredulous expression on his sister's face. "We were in the middle of robbing a department store, like usual… and the Titans showed up to bust us, like usual… and we had 'em! You woulda been proud to see it!"

"… Until Zero came and kicked our Asses." Gizmo snickered.

"Zero? Who is Zero?" She asked sharply.

"Uh… the one that hit you with the hammer, sis." Mammoth explained. "Y'know… about so tall?" He motioned to his neck. "White hair? Jinx's boyfriend."

That got Shimmer REALLY riled up.

"What? You dirty little… you…" She couldn't seem something strong enough to describe Jinx. "… You're dating a hero? What's wrong with you? You used to be one of the best!"

"… I'm still one of the best." Jinx said. "But did you REALLY think I was going to go back working for somebody that tried to kill me? And besides, Zero's… he's…" She paused. "… You wouldn't understand."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Shimmer hissed.

"… Zero saved my life. He risked his life, and went against his biggest fear, just to save me… when I would have killed him if I'd had the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"After Sub-Zero rescued the Titans and beat us… we ran, but we got separated." Gizmo started. "We were gonna look for Jinx, but… Brother Blood showed up and, well… I guess he brainwashed us or something, 'cause the next thing I remember is being back at the H.I.V.E. thinking that the Titans had planted a bomb and killed Jinx in the blast."

"But they didn't… Blood did." Mammoth clarified. "And he made sure we didn't know that. Sis, the headmaster's a dick. Pure and simple. I'm…. WE'RE, a lot better off with the Titans."

"… How did you get out?" Shimmer persisted.

"I didn't. I got pinned under smoldering rubble… trapped. I would have suffocated, but… Zero saw Blood escaping with Gizmo and Mammoth, but didn't see me with them… he realized I was in there, and went back for me."

"Why?"

"… Because he's Sub-Zero." She said simply. "He's not like the people at the H.I.V.E… I mean, sure, there were good people there, See-More, Billy, Kid Wicked, Private Hive… God only knows where any of them are now. But Sub-Zero… he's different. Even from the other Titans. If he had let me die in that building, it never would have left him."

"… So you've all been lied to then too, hm?" Shimmer whispered darkly from her cot. "… Have you forgotten? All the people we used to pass on the street? The ones that would look at Mammoth like he was a wild animal, the ones that would have stepped on Gizmo's head and then made a smart ass joke about mistaking him for a turtle?" Her eyes bored intensely into her brother. "The ones back home that used to call us freaks? Because we were different? Mammoth, you should know what I'm talking about better than anyone else… Don't you—"

"I remember, Sis." He grunted softly. "And I sure as Hell don't need to be reminded.

"Society is flawed, and good is evil." She stated vehemently. "Therefore, all evil is good. I thought you all had learned that a long time ago…"

"…"

There was silence.

* * *

An Asian man in flowing black robes with a bright-red cape stood glaring at a young woman in white, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the room, staring blankly at the floor.

"Haruko… my daughter… he's no good for you. You're a noblewoman! You could have anyone you want. Someone of repute… someone who is somebody. Not some… some…"

"… Peasant?" The girl supplied in a hollow voice.

"Yes… peasant. He's already shown that he has no interest in you, anyway… a foolhardy move on his part. Why do continue to pine for that scum?"

"… Father…"

……………………….

………………………………

Ghost opened his eyes with a groan, rubbing his head. He'd just had the weirdest dream… something about a girl… and man, but…

"Wake up, will ya Sleeping Beauty? You've been out quite a while…"

He bolted upright, yelping at the sudden voice…

… and he ended up staring Raven in the face. Or a raven, rather… she was now wearing a green cloak.

"It took you long enough. I was starting to think you were dead! Or should I say, Double dead!" She snickered.

"Uh… who….?" He stammered.

"Raven." She said flatly.

"Yes, so I see…" He moaned. "but… which Raven, exactly?"

"Me? I'm the tough one! All those other's are a bunch of pansies, except maybe Rage and she's just psycho."

"Splendid." He said dryly, rubbing his head. "… You wouldn't know the way to the 'stone circle' would you?"

"Look around, Baby. You're there."

Sure enough, when Ghost actually stopped to look around, he was sitting in the middle of a circle of tall craggy spires, just like Happy Raven had described.

"… Uh… then, do you know the way out of here? Back into the real world?" He persisted.

"Uh, well that's where it gets tricky…" Brave Raven said evasively.

"… Why?"

Ghost suddenly felt a hot breath against his neck, along with a low rumbling growl…

… And turned around to see four yellow eyes framed in a red, white-tressed face.

"**YIKES**!" He yelped, leaping backwards.

"… You have to fight Pops, there." Brave Raven sneered, pointing to the figure…

There, standing before them, was what looked to be a smaller, younger version of Trigon, manifest in Raven's mind.

"… Oh dear…"


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_Disclaimer: The Teen Titans are not mine._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Fifteen_**

"Raven, are you sure you're alright?" Jinx asked concernedly.

Raven was sitting across the table from her, clutching silently at her forehead. She muttered back in response, "I'm fine. I'm more worried about you after that whole deal with Shimmer."

After Gizmo and Jinx had left Mammoth alone with Shimmer to try to clear things up, Raven and Jinx had both elected to read a while and calm their nerves. However, Raven had been acting… oddly.

"I'm fine." She reassured. "It's just… I worry about Shimmer. She got beat up pretty bad… even though she probably deserved it."

"Probably?" Raven said raising an eyebrow. "She could've stood a few more blows from Robin's staff and Zero's hammer, from what I heard. How could you stand to be around her?"

"… She's my friend. Or at least, she was… I don't know now. But at the H.I.V.E. she wasn't like this. She's just… different…"

"She's pissed because you, Mammoth, and Gizmo are actually doing something worthwhile." Raven added dryly. "By the way…"

"… Yeah?" Jinx said, looking over the cover of the Steven King book she was reading.

… Raven hid part of her face behind a wall of Edgar Allen Poe poetry, her reading material of choice. "You… haven't seen Ghost around have you…?"

"…Hmm… No. Not since… not since the other day. I wonder where he is?" She mused thoughtfully.

"Robin told me he'd made himself a little room in the basement. But… he's not down there…"

"Why are you so anxious to find him?" Jinx teased. "Has he pissed you off somehow? He can't be worse than Beast Boy…"

"No, that's… he hasn't done anything. It just has me… well…" She trailed off…

Without warning, she closed her book of Edgar A. Poe and put it down. She stared intensely at Jinx. "Jinx… come with me for a second…"

Jinx blinked. "… What?"

"Just… just do it." She said flatly, grabbing Jinx's slender hand and yanking her up from her seat with surprising strength. She dragged Jinx out of the room and into the halls.

"What the—where are we going?" Jinx demanded.

… Raven said nothing…

In what seemed like mere seconds, they had reached the doorway to Raven's room. She casually opened it up and pulled the perplexed Jinx in, closing the door hastily behind her.

Raven let go of Jinx, and then she walked over to her bed, bending over slightly and picking up a bouquet of monochromatic black-and-white flowers with small centers and matching red stems, all wrapped up in a dark blue paper with a purple cord tied around it. They were bizarre flowers, to be sure, but yet… they were somehow pretty as well.

There was a moment of dull silence.

"… What… is that…?" Jinx said numbly, staring at the flowers.

"… I walked in a while ago, before Robin came and told me about Shimmer… and… these were lying on the floor."

Another period of silence…

Then, with no warning, Jinx burst into a Cheshire Cat styled grin. "_Meheheheh_… well, well, well… look's like somebody has a secret admirer!" She purred.

"Don't… even… joke like that." Raven managed to strain out through gritted teeth.

"What?" She said retorted with a mock pout. "Is it a crime that I'm glad my friend might have finally found someone?"

"I didn't 'find' anybody, and whoever they are, I DON'T want them to find me." She snarled softly. "But… look… the thing is…" She paused. Then, with a sigh, she said: "… Could it have been him?"

"Who?"

"… Ghost!"

"Oh. But why—"

"Who else would it have been?" She reasoned. "Everyone else is otherwise… involved… and… well, I DEFY you to tell me Cyborg, Mammoth, or Gizmo did this."

"………"

"… You see? It had to have been Ghost."

"Well, that's why he's disappeared, then." Jinx stated as though it were obvious.

"Huh?"

"Sheesh, do you REALLY expect him to hang around in plain sight? He was too nervous about your reaction so he went off somewhere for a while… guys are just weird like that."

"Even so, why hasn't he come back yet?" Raven persisted.

"Well… maybe he's just waiting for the right time."

"……….."

"Raven…" Jinx started softly. "… If it… WAS Ghost… would that make any difference to you?"

"What are you talking about?" Raven murmured sharply, tugging her hood down.

"Well… It's… I mean, Ghost is… not such a bad guy. He might—"

"Stop it right now." Raven said flatly. "I know where you're going and I'm not going there. Do you really thi—"

"What's so wrong with it?" Jinx asked. "At least give him a chance."

Raven gave off a peculiar sound that was half a growl and half a heavy sigh. "… Look… Jinx… even if I was… like that… I barely know Ghost."

"… You're a hard person to get to know." Jinx countered.

"… And I'm keeping it that way." Raven insisted bluntly.

Jinx sighed. "… What are you going to tell him."

"……………"

"… That's what I thought. You feel sorry for him."

"I do not! I mean… yes. I do. But not because of this. Just because… he has… other problems." She said evasively.

"Other problems…?" Jinx asked expectantly.

"……… You can't tell anyone else. He didn't swear me to secrecy or anything, but… still, it's not the kind of thing that's supposed to be told about people…"

"What? Don't tell me big bad Ghosty has some deep dark secret." She snorted.

"He's illiterate."

This stopped Jinx mid-sentence, and she dropped the book she was holding. It thumped against the floor, and then gave way to a thunderstruck silence.

"… What?"

"He can't read. Or write. He's blind in one eye, and almost blind in the other, were it not for that monocle. Does that really sound like the ideal candidate for a relationship to you?" She asked. "I mean… even if I was interested in a relationship."

"Ok… so… he does have problems…" Jinx said slowly. "But… don't you like him maybe even a little bit…?"

"Liking someone and…" Raven had to force the next word out. "… _Dating_ them… are two very different things. I like Ghost. He's smart, powerful… kind… but… look, I just… I don't…"

"You don't get emotionally attached to anyone." Jinx huffed impatiently. "I know. And it's getting old. I mean… ever since I've known you, you've always been so…" Jinx struggled for a word. "… Antisocial."

"… Do I tell you how to live your life?" Raven snapped after a minute.

"That's not—"

"No. And I'd thank you to just drop the subject. When I find Ghost, I'm just going to tell him exactly what I told you… and make sure he gets the idea. And if he doesn't, I'm going to beat it into his head."

"…………"

"… What?"

"…. I didn't say anything…"

"You didn't have to. I can see it in your eyes, and feel it in my head. You're pissed. What about?"

"… Raven… I'm sorry… but… why? Why are you so… so… so damn cold? If I were to punch you in the heart, I'd break my fist because it would either be made of ice or rock."

"Hm. This from an ex-vicious-criminal." Raven said bitingly with a sarcastic smile.

Stung by the words, the pink-haired enchantress flinched and went silent. And it was then that Raven realized that had definitely been a low blow, even for her.

"I… I'm sorry… go on." She apologized softly.

"… Why? Why are you so… devoid of any kind of emotion?"

"I'm not. It's just… I like to keep them under control."

"Even so much that it seems like they don't even exist?" Jinx asked.

"Heh… If only." Raven sneered under her breath.

"What do you mean?"

"… Emotions are more trouble than they're worth. I—and everyone else, for that matter—would be better off if I didn't have them… but I'm human, at least partially, and so they're unavoidable."

Jinx looked as though Raven had just sprouted an extra head. "… How can you say that? 'Partially'? You're as human as the rest of us…"

"No, I'm not. I'm half-human and half-demon. My father is Trigon and my mother… well… too much to explain and not enough time to explain it."

Jinx narrowed her already slit-like eyes. "… That means nothing… Smoke isn't exactly the most typical of people either, birth-wise, but… he's as human as anyone. And so are you."

"………"

"… And what do you mean, 'more trouble than they're worth'? Emotions are what make us human. Without them, we'd be no better than… Trigon. But even Trigon feels emotion, even if it's all anger, lust, and hate. With NO emotion, you'd be… a husk… a shell…"

"A harmless shell that would be incapable of hurting anyone." Raven clarified.

A beat.

"… So is that what this is all about…? You don't want anyone to get close because you think you're going to hurt them?"

Raven ran her hand absent-mindedly over the flowers…

"… Jinx… if I get out of control… even so much as get angry… the whole world is a liability. Mild annoyance can cause appliances and small vehicles to explode. Excessive happiness can cause things to levitate in the air and spin wildly. Sadness can make lights flicker and power fail. And anger, not annoyance, but anger…" There was a pause. "… That's exactly what he wants. He wants me to get angry."

"Who?" Jinx asked, paling and wide-eyed at Raven's words.

"… Trigon…"

A few more seconds passed with nothing said between them.

"… That's why. That's why I'm so cold."

"…………"

"…………"

Without a word, Jinx turned and started to leave. She walked slowly and silently out of the room. But, the silence was suddenly, broken.

"Huh…? **AH**! _Uuuugh_!" Raven abruptly stumbled and fell to her knees, clutching at her head and leaning against the side of her bed.

"Raven?" Jinx whipped around and ran over, bending down to Raven's level. "… Raven! What's wrong? Are you ok?"

She moaned and rolled over onto the floor, suddenly sweating and shaking, and all the while holding her head as though it were about to burst.

Jinx stared numbly for a moment before her mind registered that something was seriously wrong…

"Wait here." Jinx said, lifting Raven up and putting her on her bed. "I'm going to get the others!"

She dashed out of the room, leaving Raven alone to curl up into a ball on the bed and whimper with pain.

* * *

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**_…. (**Gasp**)… _**AAAAAAAAAH**_!" 

A shriek that sounded suspiciously like a five-year old girl echoed throughout the destitute void that was Raven's subconscious.

Ghost flapped frantically away as fast as his wings would carry him, whilst being pursued by the scaled-down version of Trigon that was chasing him.

"Mortal fool! Come back so that I may kill you!" He snarled loudly, knocking over stone spires and small boulders as he stomped along.

Green Raven flew up next to Ghost and stared at him incredulously. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you're afraid of this overgrown red stag-beetle! You're tougher than that."

"… (**Gulp**)… Are you crazy? That's Trigon!" Ghost whimpered, staring at her.

"No… not the real one. Just like I'm not the real Raven." She jerked her head at the red monster chasing them. "That's Raven's mental representation of Trigon: a threat that always looms over her mind, never giving her a moment's peace."

Ghost stopped in midair and hovered. "So… he's not even real?"

"No. Hell, even that wussy Green Guy and the Robot stood a chance against him when they got trapped in here a while back. So you should mop the floor with him."

As psuedo-Trigon grew ever closer, Ghost trembled. "B-but… he's…" Words escaped him. "… scary?"

"Only when you think too much about it. Just don't think about it. Go get him!"

"…….."

"You want to get out of here, don't you?"

"… Yes…"

"You want to impress Raven, don't you?"

"… _Yes_."

"And you've GOT to be pissed at that loser Trigon for trying to make you his little servant-boy, right?"

'… **_Yes_**!"

"And now you're going to go out there and show him who's boss!"

"… **_No_**!"

And with that being said, he promptly turned in mid-air and started hauling arse away…

"Oh, no you don't!" She grabbed him by the foot and held him there. "How do you ever expect to get Raven to admit she's in love with you if you keep pulling shit like that?"

"Well, I…" he froze. "… What did you say…?"

Green Raven's eyes suddenly widened. "Whoops. I've said too much…"

"She's…"

"Yes. But you didn't hear it from me. Now are you going to kick his ass or what?"

Ghost turned and stared at the giant demon stomping ominously towards them. Somehow, his confidence seemed much more bolstered than before.

"… (_Shhink_!)…" He slid his katana from its scabbard. "… For Raven."

With a loud shout, he flew straight at Trigon's face at high speed, raising his sword for a slashing dive…

* * *

"What happened?" Robin demanded, as he placed the moist towel on Raven's forehead. 

"I… I don't know…" Jinx responded shakily. "We were talking and… and she… just collapsed!"

Sub-Zero, standing next to Jinx, put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "Nothing at all? I mean, she just keeled over for no apparent reason?"

"Yes." Jinx said softly.

Everyone except Mammoth, currently with Shimmer, had gathered around Raven's bedside. Since she'd collapsed, Cyborg had been trying to discover the problem, but to no avail.

"Raven…" Cyborg got down on one knee and spoke to her softly. "Where is it hurting you the most?"

"… H-head… my… head…" She groaned weakly.

Robin removed his glove and placed a bare hand to her right temple.

_(… Thump… thump… thump…)_

He sighed. "Her head's pounding… I don't know what's causing this, but it's definitely not a regular migraine…"

Cyborg had stuck a small suction-cup like device to Raven's forehead with a wire coming out and hooking to a monitor. On this monitor, there was a line that was shaking and zigzagging wildly. "Her brainwaves are… crazy… I've never seen anything like this happen before." He stated.

"Is friend Raven going to recover?" Starfire sniffled as Blackfire tried to calm her.

"Yeah… I mean… she's never done this before, has she?" Beast Boy asked, patting Terra's shoulder. She was hunched over Raven's bedside looking deeply fearful.

"Not that I know of." Robin responded.

"It's ok, Star." Blackfire assured. "Whatever it is, we'll fix it… somehow…"

"Maybe she'll come out of it on her own." Smoke said, trying to cheer Starfire up. "Raven's a tough 'un. She can handle a headache, of all things."

Cyborg's brow furrowed. "That's just it… I'm not so sure this is a headache…"

* * *

Ghost soared through the air towards Trigon, deflecting the fireballs he hurled with his katana and sending them flying off into the black void. 

"Fool! Even a false Trigon can defeat the likes of you!" He bellowed.

With a flash of light, Trigon blasted out four yellow laser beams at once from his eyes, crackling and sizzling threateningly.

Ghost flapped his leathery wings harder and ascended higher up, flying over the beams. Trigon swept them upwards at him, but he barrel-rolled to the side, neatly avoiding them again.

"Eat this!" Ghost hurled a handful of buzz-saw-like pentagram shuriken at Trigon's face, resulting in a spray of black bile as the sharpened projectiles hacked furiously at his huge face.

"_**GRRRRARGH**_!" Covering his face, Trigon thrashed about angrily, demolishing the landscape. He swung his giant fists blindly, flailing them about.

Ghost did a somersault around Trigon's arm, and came back down with a slash of his katana, severing the entire huge limb from Trigon's body. A massive roar of pain shook Raven's mind as black bile sprayed about, pooling on the rocky ground and sizzling like dark acid.

"Time's up for you, Demon." Ghost snarled.

He sheathed his katana and began to spin his scythe wildly, like a giant helicopter blade.

"_HA_!"

He lashed out four times in quick succession, taking out all of Trigon's eyes in an angry frenzy, as smoke billowed from Trigon's eye sockets.

The huge Arch-Demon stomped and howled, blinded by the attack. He grabbed a nearby stone spire after a bit of feeling about, and started swinging it recklessly like a titanic war club.

Ghost perched himself on Trigon's head. "I say, up here you red bastard!"

Intent on taking him out, Trigon swung…

… Only to have Ghost zip out of the way like a fly and cause Trigon to smash the blunt improvised weapon over his own demonic skull.

The demon glowered weakly, and staggered about…

"Time for the _coup de grace…_" He muttered.

With one last swoop downwards, he swung his scythe in a huge, wide arc… there was a shrieking whistle as it shot through the air, leaving a metallic shimmer in its wake.

With a ripping sound, the scythe tore through both Trigon's legs at the knees, toppling him to the ground with a quake-inducing impact.

Ghost stopped in midair, and he formed a ball of sizzling shadowy energy in his hand… "Fare thee well, Demon!" He spat.

He hurled the small shadowy sphere. Like a bullet it careened through the air, growing exponentially in size and intensity as it flew. Within seconds it was the size of a small comet.

A massive explosion of gray fog and silvery sparks shook the area as Ghost's dark energy blast annihilated the last bits of Trigon completely.

Flapping his wings slowly, Ghost came back down to the ground and stumbled, falling onto his gut.

Green Raven hovered over and squealed ecstatically, hugging Ghost. "You did it!"

"Yeah… I…. I did…" Ghost panted, sounding more surprised than her.

"Quite. Some brilliant tactical maneuvers you pulled off, if I may say so myself."

"Thank you."

Green Raven shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

"Huh?"

"Over here…"

Ghost turned around in time to see yet another variant of Raven emerging from the shadows, this one wearing a yellow cloak.

"Oh great…" Green Raven rolled her eyes. "The nerd's here."

"Please, spare me the petty insults. You haven't even told him how to get out of here yet, have you?" Yellow Raven accused, adjusting her glasses.

"I was workin' on it… sheesh…" She turned to Ghost. "Look. You're gonna need all of us to get out of here, so you're going to have to wait a bit 'til we can round up the others…"

"We're here too…" A gloomy voice called out from nearby.

Abruptly a gray-clad Raven and the same happy pink one from before both emerged out from behind a rock.

Ghost's brain reeled. "How many of you are there?"

Happy counted on her fingers. "Well, there's happy—that's me!—timid, brave, smart… that's all that are here. But there's also rude, lust, love, hate, arrogance, and sorrow."

"And since Trigon's out of the way… for now… all we need do is find the others and we can get you back to the real world." Smart concluded.

* * *

"Hang on a sec…" Cyborg squinted. "… Everything's… back to normal…" 

Raven panted and sighed on the bed, sweaty but no longer holding her head. She didn't seem to be in pain any longer.

Most everyone had left, deciding it would be better not to crowd around her like a Circus attraction. Only Robin, Cyborg, and Jinx were left.

"She's out cold…" Cyborg stated. "But other than that, she seems to be just fine."

"So it's over?" Jinx asked.

"Whatever it was,yeah…looks like it."

"Good…" Robin sighed, sitting down. "But… you still haven't pinpointed the problem?"

"At least her head isn't hurting now… she's asleep…" Jinx added.

"Yeah. We can ask her when she wakes up… maybe she knows what happened better than we do."

* * *

"Hello…? Any Ravens around here…?" Ghost called, wandering along the rocky pathway. 

The other Ravens had volunteered to go look for… well… the other Ravens… while Ghost went and looked in the opposite direction.

"Hello? … I hate to intrude, but… I really need some help… I seem to have been transported here by Raven's mirror, and—"

"… (_Giggle_)…"

Ghost whipped around.

There was nothing there.

"… Psst… over here…"

He turned around again, but… still, he saw nothing.

"No, no! Up here…"

He looked up…

There, stretched out on her side along a rocky overpass, was Raven… only this time, with a jet-black cloak as opposed to the normal blue one.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought I'd never—" He began, but he was cut off.

She leapt down from the overpass and landed conveniently in his arms in a rather risqué manner.

"Shh… Don't say anything… you'll spoil the moment…" She purred silkily, giving him an unnerving look.

… And it was at this point that he realized he may have just found the wrong Raven.

"Uhh… Which Raven are you, anyway…?" He gulped nervously.

She giggled again and suddenly whipped off her cloak, leaving her in only a leotard. She rubbed the cloak along his neck and whispered. "The one from your dreams, Big Boy…"

Going stark red, he gulped and tried not to sway on the spot. "… Right… I take it you're Lust?"

"_Ooh_, good-looking **_and_** smart… I like that in a man…" She said, getting about an inch away from his face.

"… Oh dear…"

* * *

"Yo, Spaceman… hand me the road-map, will ya?" 

"What? Where?"

"There… in the glove compartment…"

"… This?"

"What? No Dude, that other thing… with the handle… yeah, that."

"Right… map… this one?"

"… Uh… that's a McDonald's menu, Spaceman…"

"… A what?"

"… Nevermind. Just hand me that big laminated sheet of stuff…"

"… This?"

"Yeah, that."

Geo parked his old blue car on the side of the road and cut the engine. Unbuckling his seat belt, he unfurled the map his Tamaranean compadre had given him. He pulled a black sharpie marker from his pocket and started tracing along with it…

"… Just planning the route, Spaceman…" He muttered, staring intently.

"How long do you surmise it will take?"

"Well, if all goes well… and we make the occasional stop for food, gas, and bathroom breaks… I'd say…" Geo did some quick mental calculations. "… About a week."

"… Dear _X'hal_…" Ryand'r muttered, reclining back on his seat.

* * *

"So you're… actually… happy… here?" Shimmer said incredulously. 

"Well… yeah…" Mammoth responded slowly. "Sure, superhero work ain't as fun as smashing vault doors or throwing police cars, but… it sure as Hell beats having my ass handed to me by superheroes every five minutes."

"… You're sure they're feeding you enough? You look like you've lost some weight!" She fussed.

"Really, I'm fine…" He insisted. "You can go back home, if you want…. But…"

"But… what?"

"Just… look. I can't stop you from living life the way you want to live life. And If crime really works for you, then keep it up. But… if it's not… stop. Stop stealing stuff. Stop knocking over banks. Just… do…" He seemed to be reaching for words. "… Uh… Good stuff." He said with a shrug.

Shimmer's eyes narrowed. "Good is relative. I could be doing much worse than I am now."

"Good." Mammoth grunted. "At least you're not at the bottom of the totem-pole then. And since I know you're probably going to leave as soon as you can… if you ever get in trouble… if you're ever in danger… you're always welcome here."

"Pfft. That's not what your little… friends… would say…"

Mammoth cracked his knuckles with a sound like a gun going off. "… I can be _reeeeaaaal_ persuasive."

There was a pause…

Mammoth turned and started to leave, thinking the conversation was over…

"… Wait…"

He turned. "Huh?"

"… I…. I didn't want to tell you in front of everyone… or in front of Jinx… or Gizmo… but…"

He blinked. "Tell me what?"

"… Mammoth… do you really think I came all the way out here just to chew you out?"

He paused. "… maaaybe…"

She shook her head vigorously. "No. But…" She trailed off. Something seemed to be bothering her.

"… Look… whatever it is, tell me. I ain't gonna freak out."

Shimmer shifted and laid over on her side… and a moment later, her shoulders shook.

"… Huh? Shimmer… are you… ok?"

"… M-Mammoth…"

"What's wrong? What is it?" he demanded.

"It's… oh… Mom and Dad."

A beat.

"… Ok… What about them…?" He asked nonchalantly, grabbing a soda from a nearby table and opening it, taking a swig.

"… they… they're… gone…"

He choked on the soda. "… (**Cough**, _hack_!) What?"

"… They're…. Dead, Mammoth…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	17. Chapter Sixteen

_Disclaimer: The Teen Titans aren't mine._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Sixteen**_

"So… you mean to tell me that your sister's a Teen Titan?" Geoforce said impressedly whilst munching a burger from a fast-food joint and driving simultaneously. "You don't hear that everyday."

"Yes… she seems quite… _fond_ of them…" Ryand'r said distastefully.

"So what's the problem? I mean, if she's been on Earth this whole time, then why are you wantin' her back all the sudden?" Geo persisted.

Ryand'r's eerie green eyes, which because they had green pupils too appeared pupil-less, narrowed. "… It would mean little to you…" He said dismissively.

"Aw, c'mon, you can trust a dumb Earthling, can't you? S'not like I'm gonna rat you out to your enemies back in space." Geoforce prodded. "I'm just curious, that's all."

"… Fine…" Geo spat. "… We have reason to believe that Koriand'r, my sister, may be withholding something from us. We have not received any communiqués of any kind from her in some time, and… what I am more worried about… is that Komand'r has been missing for some time now since it escaped prison… and has yet to be recaptured. If it has somehow harmed Koriand'r, and that is the reason we haven't heard from her, I…"

"Hang on… Komand'r? Who's that?" Geo interrupted.

… There was a pause…

"… Komand'r is not a 'who'. It is an 'it.' A monster, of which my entire family is burdened with the weight of. It—or she, if you must—would sooner see us all dead than anything."

"Whoa, heavy…" Geoforce said softly as he drove. "… That bad, huh?"

"Worse." Ryand'r sighed. "… It is almost as powerful as I, and roughly equal to Koriand'r, though worthy of neither fear nor respect."

Suddenly, Geo's brain made a connection. Komand'r was bad. Komand'r might be at the Tower. They were going to the tower…

"Wait… hang on, Man… if this thing is at the Tower when we get there…" He gulped, but Ryand'r cut him off.

"Then I will do what my parents should have done the minute it was born." Ryand'r said.

Geo stared… and then forced his gaze back onto the road, lest they run into something. "… Wait… do you mean…?"

"… Yes…" Ryand'r sighed, sounding utterly revolted. "… As much as a loath to admit it, Komand'r is also my sister… biologically, at least. But I have roughly the same affection for her—or it, rather—that I would have for a three-toed marsh-troller."

"Uhh… I'll take that as a bad thing." Geo snickered. "Dude, and I thought I had family problems…"

There was an awkward pause…

"… What IS wrong with your family?" Ryand'r asked off-handedly, thinking to make some conversation.

"Aw geez… my parents are uber-jerkwads, of the most heinous degree. Its like they have a Ford Pinto shoved up their asses, and can't get it out… as for my sister, well… haven't seen her in years. And she was never all that bright anyway."

Ryand'r blinked. "… Compared with… you?"

"… Aw, that was cold, Spacedude. I ain't the brightest cookie in the shed, but I'm still not as dense as she was, from what I remember. A blonde in the truest sense even compared to me."

"… Blonde?"

"Like… well… yellowish hair, I mean. Like mine."

"I see… and people with hair like yours are comparatively unintelligent?" Ryand'r asked.

"Well, that's… sort've a joke. Y'know, a lot of people say that just in a funny way, but it's not really true."

"… Right. So then… what IS the difference?"

"Huh? Besides hair color?"

"What does the different color signify? Why is it different?"

"Well… nothing, really, and no real reason. It's just… an outside appearance difference. Just because somebody's got a different hair-color doesn't mean they're any different from you inside, y'know?"

"………"

"I mean… surely everybody doesn't look the same where you come from?"

"… Roughly eighty five percent of the population has red hair. The rest have brown, signifying slightly more common blood and background. All Tamaraneans have green eyes. Other than that, appearances are variable."

"Dude… that's… boring." Geo snickered with a blink. "A whole planet full of redheads and the occasional brunette? Yowza…" He sighed. "But then, take us Earthlings for example: our hair color means nothing. In fact, a lot of people don't keep their natural color; they dye it."

Ryand'r looked as though Geoforce had sprouted an extra head. "… They… _dye_… their hair?" He asked.

"Sure! Like… see…. People dye their hair black all the time, back where I come from."

"… Black hair…?"

"Sure. But hey, once again, that means nothin'. I mean, maybe looking different is a bit odd back in your hometown, but… on Earth, we get used to it. Very few people look almost the same, excepting of course twins and stuff. On our planet, it's not something to get worked up over…"

It suddenly got really quiet.

"… You ok, Spaceman?" Geo asked.

"Yes… fine…" He said listlessly, reclining back in his seat. "… Wake me when we stop next…"

"Heh… will do, Your Spaciness."

* * *

Cyborg sat and groaned, rubbing his head. He'd been assigned by Robin to keep watch over Raven, who still hadn't regained consciousness… just in case anything happened.

He, like most of the Tower, had already found out about Mammoth's misfortune. And he was still as depressed as anyone, though it still didn't give Shimmer any excuse to bust up into their tower like she did.

He glanced over at the monitor showing Raven's vitals… everything seemed normal, as though she was simply asleep.

"Dunno why Robin couldn't have done this himself, if he was so worried. Everything looks fine to me…" Cy muttered crossly to himself.

There was a sudden noise, and Cyborg snapped out of his thoughts, bringing his gaze to the monitor. But, there were still no changes…

The noise wasn't coming from the monitor…

There was a deep rumble echoing in the room. And something was rattling on Raven's desk… something vibrating against the smooth surface.

Slowly, Cyborg got up and walked over. "… What the…?"

It was Raven's mirror. It was rattling on the desk, shaking violently and exuding a strange crimson glow. Cyborg, not having had good experiences with that particular piece of vanity in the past, backed up slowly. "Oh crap…"

… **_BZZKT_**!

A beam of blood-red energy, flocked by shadow bird-shaped forms, exploded into the room with a shower of black steam and silvery sparks. It blasted against the wall and lit the room with a blinding flash of white light. Cyborg ducked to the ground with a yelp, expecting something to explode…

… And abruptly, the light faded out into darkness, no explosion whatsoever. When Cyborg opened his eyes, the mirror was glowing again, but this time it widened and stretched, like a pair of giant jaws. Before his stunned eyes, it made a few wretching noises, and spat out something… no, someone… like a piece of unwanted food. It was Ghost!

He slammed against the wall with a thump, and slowly slid off like a fly off a windshield… landing conveniently next to Raven in bed with a groan. The mirror, belching loudly, shrank back down into its normal state.

… It was at this painfully awkward moment that, just as Cyborg began to say something, Raven murmured in her sleep and—much to Ghost's shock—rolled over… right onto him.

Raven's azure-tinted eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry… slowly it cleared to reveal Ghost, red-in-the-face and far too close for comfort.

"…………"

"…………"

"…………"

"…………"

"………… Hello."

"………… **_AHHHHHH_**!"

**KABOOM**!

Ghost abruptly went flying into yet another wall, this time propelled by a zap of black-magic, and slid off similarly to the first time.

At this point, it was unclear who was more confused: Ghost, Cyborg, or Raven.

"… What the Hell…?" Was the most lucid thing Cyborg could come up with, his eyes going back and forth to the overly-abused Ghost to Raven, who was clutching her sheets around herself with a crimson-tinted face and eyes too wide for her head.

Raven's eyes flashed. "… You two have exactly one minute to explain why you are in my room and what just happened…" Crickets chirped. "… And two seconds have just passed."

* * *

"… I… I still can't believe it…" Jinx sniffled into Zero's shoulder as he patted her back. "Mammoth's parents are… dead."

Zero winced. "… At least… now we know why his sister was so… ah… overwrought, shall we say. Now I almost feel bad for striking her…"

Jinx wiped her eyes, which were beginning to tear up. "… Zero… are you sure you'll be alright without me for a few days?"

Zero sighed. Jinx had already told him that she planned to attend the funeral. He, naturally, had not protested.

"I'll be fine, Darling. Just… be careful, alright?" He pleaded.

She smirked. "I'm more worried about you. What if you get mobbed by girls while I'm gone?"

"Well, I'm…. sure I'd think of SOME way to get out of it." He chuckled.

"………"

"… In all seriousness, I'll be just fine. Maybe a little lonely without you around, but… still fine."

"… I'm glad you understand." Jinx responded.

"What's not to understand? Mammoth's your friend, and mine. And I hardly think that Robin will hold this absence against you, considering the circumstances."

Jinx nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I talked Cyborg into letting us use the T-Ship. Luckily, Gizmo already knows how to fly it, so we should be fine."

"You're lucky." Sub-Zero snickered. "… That one time Smoke's truck was almost out of gas and he asked to borrow the T-Car, Cyborg looked at him like he'd just asked to borrow a vital organ."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "What IS it with guys and cars, anyway?"

Sub-Zero sighed. "… Well… I for one am not obsessed with vehicles."

"Only because you can't drive." Jinx teased her boyfriend.

"… Yes… Well… I'm learning." He said defensively. "Terra's been teaching me."

Jinx suddenly went pale. "Oh God…"

* * *

"Yeah… and… so anyway, that's why she's here." Smoke finished telling his stunned audience.

Beast Boy, Starfire, Terra, and Blackfire were gathered around the kitchen table, staring numbly at Smoke, who had just told them about Mammoth's plight.

"I can't… believe it." Terra said slowly.

Starfire looked as though she were about to burst into tears. "… (Sniffle)… I… I now regret… fighting poor Shimmer."

Blackfire snickered. "Well… I wouldn't go THAT far…"

"I talked to Mammoth." Smoke continued. "Said he's gonna be gone a few days with Gizmo, Jinx, and Shimmer to the funeral…"

Beast Boy slumped in his chair. "First Trigon… then Ghost goes missing… and now this. Things can't get much worse."

Smoke rolled his eyes. "I dunno… things could ALWAYS be worse. I mean, hey, we're all still OK and intact, aren't we? That's the most important thing." He said bracingly, giving Blackfire a hug around the shoulders.

"Yeah… you're right." Beast Boy said with a nod. "… And hopefully it'll stay that way."

Star sniffed and mumbled a quick 'thank you' as Blackfire handed her a tissue. "… (Sniffle)… I have had a feeling for the longest time now that something is about to happen." She said quietly.

Beast Boy cocked his head. "Huh? What's about to happen?"

"I… I do not know. It is just… a feeling in my heart as if something important is in store for us."

Smoke cocked an eyebrow. "Heh… so what, you're psychic now or something? I mean, it could always just be nervousness. Having so much going on at one time can do that, y'know."

Star looked out the window wistfully. "… Perhaps…"

* * *

_**Meanwhile, At The Arkham Asylum For The Criminally Insane…**_

A short little robed figure, about five and a half feet and clad in all black robes with red trim, glided swiftly along the jagged rocky path up to the gates of Arkham Asylum… home to some of the worst criminals in existence.

Although Arkham generally caters to the incarceration of Gotham criminals and mental patients, it occasionally takes in subjects that other prisons simply can't contain. Such was the case with several inmates from Metropolis, and a few from Jump City.

Before long, the figure had reached the gates. They were sealed firmly shut, only to be open from the inside… and it seemed that, due to the late hour, no guards were currently on duty to let people in.

The figure brought up the sleeves of his robes and waved a pair of gnarled, wrinkly hands…

The locks and bolts locking the gates glowed slightly, and then snapped off with a shrill rip. The gates swung slowly inward, creaking and groaning loudly. The robed figure moved inward to the building itself.

A pair of guards stood propped on their rifles at the front entrance, standing under a spot where the roof projected out to cover themselves from the howling wind and pouring rain… though neither of this had any visible effect on the late-night visitor.

Neither of the guards noticed his approach; rather, they kept on with their conversation.

"Hey… what do you make of that guy they brought in from Jump?"

"Dunno… from what I hear, their prison just couldn't keep him in. He kept thinkin' up crazy ways to escape. He's supposed to be pretty bad, but… heh. He's not as scary as those freakshows we're used to, y'know?"

"I imagined. You've seen him…?"

"Yeah. Wierdo, that one. He's nothin' more than an old geezer, but… he's got some weird-ass hologram thing; makes him look years younger. When his hologram's up, he's got red hair and buck teeth, but in reality he's old and gray."

"Very strange… what sort of powers does he have? I mean, they wouldn't have sent a NORMAL prisoner out here."

"Well, that's just the thing. He ain't got real powers, but the guy's either a complete genius or a certified wacko… maybe both. He seems to have some kinda weird British-Superiority-Complex, and an IQ of like… 200, maybe."

"Heheheh… Weird. He sounds scary smart… Hey, what abou—"

He stopped short, seeing the robed figure slowly and stealthily approach.

"Hey… hey mack, the asylum's closed for the night. I'm afraid you're gonna have to come back tomorrow." The guard on the left started. "What're you here for?"

"… I've come… to see an old friend." The figure mused in a rather-eccentric raspy voice. It sounded like an elderly man.

"You can't, I'm afraid. The place is closed down. Should I write your name down for the waiting list?"

"Go ahead. It's Wagner… Karl Stefan Wagner…" He wheezed with a slightly insane chuckle. "And you say you're closed?"

"Yep. Sealed up tight for the night."

"Oh my… that's too bad…" Abruptly, a pair of blazing yellow eyes became visible in the hood of the cloak. "… For _you_."

Abruptly, both rifles shone with a pinkish light and floated into the air of their own accord, loading with a click and blasting their owners through the side of the head. The guards crumpled instantly to the ground, dead before they hit.

The cloaked form began walking past… and chuckled insanely as he walked past, "Oh, and as for the name… my friends call me Myntull."

He waved a hand lazily as he approached, and the doors flattened themselves inwards, pancaking against the walls and allowing to pass unimpeded. He walked past cell, after cell, after cell, until he finally found the one he was looking for.

"Ah… _kukukuku_… I have a special task for you, my Anglomaniacal friend…" He gushed with a strange edge in his voice as he stared at the doorway to the cell. "Hopefully you'll at least remember your old college friend, eh? Now… let's get you out of there…"

* * *

**_Several Hours Later…_**

"… I appreciate you giving me a lift, Smoke."

"No problem, Zero. Besides, I been meanin' to go to the mall for a while now myself."

"Oh, really? Why?"

"Well… Blackfire's been kinda… dunno… depressed lately. I don't know why; she says nothing's wrong, but… it's like she's worried about something. So… I figure maybe a present of some kind will cheer her up."

"Same with Jinx. She's been through so much lately… I want to get her something for when she gets back… something… nice."

Sub-Zero still remembered the sinking feeling he'd gotten in his gut as he'd watched the T-Ship take off with her in it.

Smoke, his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, nodded. "Yeah… I get it. You ask Robin how much we could spend?"

"As much as we needed, he said…" Zero clarified.

"Heheh… Perfect."

The drive to the mall was fairly quick and hassle-free; there was a strange absence of traffic today for some reason… they had arrived in a matter of minutes. As Smoke pulled into a parking spot (no mean feat considering the sheer size of his humvee), he put the thing in park and got out, locking it.

"Now stick close Zero…" He warned his friend. "I don't want Jinx hexin' my ass 'cause I let you get abducted by fangirls…"

Zero stared. "… What?"

Smoke sighed. "It's… probably better that you don't know." He started, and then he finished in his mind 'because I've seen the fansites….'

They made their way down to the main building and into the entrance, getting a few stares along the way… but then, this was not surprising considering they were local celebrities.

Once inside, Smoke turned to Zero. "Ok… I'll head that way… you can go wherever you want, so long as we meet up back here, got it?"

"Got it."

They split ways, heading towards different shops…

Sub-Zero ambled through the mall for what felt like hours… he gazed through the windows of the shops with a vaguely interested expression, not really seeing anything that caught his eye or struck him as something Jinx would like…

Video games… playing cards… vehicle accessories… lingerie…

……..

……………………

… Hmm…. _Lingerie_…

…. Naah….

Eventually, he saw something that DID pique his interest. A small—perhaps even tiny—shop crunched in between fast-food restaurants. The small square windows were tinted in soft rose-colored hues, and displayed little pedestals holding an assortment of brightly colored and shimmering jewels and stones. A small neon sign with blinking letters over the doorway proclaiming, 'FINE JEWELRY'. Immediately, he began walking to the entrance.

* * *

Smoke groaned and sat on a bench. He'd looked everywhere already, but… he just didn't see anything… special… enough. Blackfire didn't really wear Jewelry much, and he'd given her flowers just recently. Sweets were always a good choice, considering her appetite, but if he kept giving her chocolate she might think he was trying to make her fat.

Cards… rifles… no, that was more his interest… sporting equipment… Lingerie...

….

……….

…….. Hey…. Lingerie.

No, no that'd never fly… oh well……..

He thought of Gizmo's advice… 'Girls are like magpies… they like shiny stuff. So just get something shiny.'

As he stared through the crowd at the different shops, an idea struck him… something so _ludicrous_… something so **_outlandish_**… something so **random**…

… That it was perfect.

He immediately got up and jogged over to a large shop with the name, 'Jump City Motor Sports'.

* * *

Sub-Zero stepped out of the store, holding a small bag in one hand and smiling widely. He mumbled to himself.

"Perfect…. Now… I just have to find something to go with this… just something to compliment it and complete the package…"

He walked along absent-mindedly, trying to think of something… but he'd spent so much money already; Robin had given him permission to use as much as needed, but still…

'… Oy… oy, you there….you in the armor…" A voice from his right jolted him from his thoughts.

He turned slowly and saw a figure in the shadows. "Roight… lookin' fer somethin' to cheer up the missus, are ya?" He asked in a vaguely entertained voice. His voice was deep and scratchy, and spoken with a VERY thick British-style Cockney accent.

Sub-Zero went stark-red. "Uh… well, I… not quite the missus or anything, but…" he paused. "Wait… how did you—"

"Know? _Heheheheheheh_…." He stepped forward a bit. His form was still concealed, but Zero could make out the shape of a long slender cane. "… I know all sorts o' things, Laddy. Take you, for instance. I know how you can solve your girl problem."

Sub-Zero blinked but before he could ask any questions, the man continued.

"Just so happens Sonny that I'm givin' out free samples of our new patented hair-tonic! And YOU, my ducky, look like a prime candidate as a test-audience. Consider it a free sample."

He tossed something…. Reflexively, Zero reached up and caught it…

He suddenly found himself holding a large bottle. It was navy-blue, with a large English Union-Jack Flag emblazoned on the background, and large Old-English-Style letters proclaiming, "_**DOM DAM HAIR TONIC**! Good for shampooing, conditioning, straightening, curling, lice, and other coiffure maladies_." Next to this was a small label reading, "**NEW AND IMPROVED**!---_For Female Use Only. Guaranteed to put a whole new spin on her Hair_!"

When Sub-Zero looked up to reply to the man… he was gone, leaving only a dark alley-like inlet between two stores…

Sub-Zero stared dumbly, not sure what to make of the whole situation.

"Well… Jinx DOES take pride in her hair." He reasoned. "And besides… it's free."

_**TO BE CONTINUED….**_


	18. Chapter Seventeen

_Disclaimer: All past disclaimers (which basically say the same thing anyway) still apply here. I don't own 'em, People._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Seventeen...**_

Night had fallen on Jump City and our two bunglers were still out at the mall, although they were at last preparing to leave.

"… What… is that…?" Zero asked hesitantly as Smoke struggled to drag something enormous and completely obscured by cloth wrapped around it out to the truck.

"It's… (_grunt_)… Blackfire's… (_Groan_)… present…!… (_Pant_, _pant_)… And you know, it wouldn't kill ya to give me a hand with it!"

As Smoke stopped to take a breather, Zero rolled his eyes and walked over. With one quick swing of his arm, Sub-Zero lifted the thing into the air and hefted it on one shoulder as if it were a bundle of feathers.

"Show off…" Smoke muttered. "But still, thanks. I can lift it, but after a while it starts to get heavy on ya."

"I see what you mean…" Zero said, beginning to feel the weight of it press down on him. "What is this thing?"

"Well… I guess… I guess I can tell you." He leaned over and whispered something into Sub-Zero's ear.

The knight recoiled with bugged-out eyes. "You got her _what_? Robin's gonna be freaked out!"

"Zero, Zero… I can handle Robin." Smoke said with a chuckle. "… I'm just worried about whether or not she'll like it."

"Well… I mean… does she even know how to operate one?" Sub-Zero asked. "Because I certainly don't."

"Well, that's just because they don't have stuff like this where you come from. You can't even drive."

"I can now! Terra's been teaching me."

Smoke gave an odd cough that sounded like, '_dead man walking_.'

"… Your support is confidence-installing." Zero snapped sarcastically. "Now come on. We better hurry back to the tower…"

"Good idea. I need to see if we got any wrapping paper lying around…"

"Wrapping paper? For that? You'd need too much." Zero said as they climbed into the truck. "A simple bow would suffice, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Smoke said, cranking the vehicle and switching it into drive. "Let's just hope Blackfire doesn't see me taking it inside…"

"Yes…" Sub-Zero snorted. "Good luck with that… I'm sure you won't have too much trouble concealing it… _heheh_..."

"… Your support is confidence installing... "

* * *

_Starfire stumbled, unsure of where she was or why…_

Burning. Everything was burning… She had to find the others! Frantically, she took to the air, turning a corner into a hallway, alight with the glow of flames yet choked by clouds of smoke and steam. She waved it away, coughing, and charged past.

_"… ROBIN!" She called… "Sister! Blackfire! … Anyone!"_

_Her cries went unheard and unanswered. The tower buckled under its own weight, causing her to stumble. Bits and chunks of ceiling and wall crumbled into dust before her eyes and doors dangled on their hinges, broken and scorched; many of the windows were shattered…_

_She flew to the door marked **ROBIN**, but to no avail… it was empty. She moaned dismally, and flew to everyone's rooms in turn, calling out desperately, shrieking her friends' names… _

_No response save the hissing of the fire…_

_The metal tower began to collapse with a deafening screech of agony, as though the building itself was in torment. The very floor beneath her began slowly stretching inwards, about to cave in as she heard the lower levels beneath erupt into flames and shatter into debris and dust. _

_Then… it was as though she were in an elevator that'd had its cord cut. She dropped, along with the hall itself. _

_Panicking, she ran for a window and flew out!_

_The air outside whipped against her, going from hot choked air to cold clean air in just seconds. She gasped it in, and flew into the air, looking around wildly._

_The Tower… was falling. No, crumbling…it disintegrated at the base, ground by some unseen force into nothing more than dust, slowly becoming shorter and smaller, until finally… only the top bar of the "T" remained… and then it, too, sunk into nothingness. Her home had been consumed. _

_Tears strangled her. She looked away, sobbing and wretching for breath wildly. And as she looked up to the sky, as if to ask… "why?"…_

_She saw it._

_There, above the smoldering cloud of dust that had once been glorious Titan's Tower… an utterly colossal shape hovered, much larger than the Tower itself. Its vast surface blocked out the sunlight, resulting in a sort-of semi-eclipse, and rendering the area dim and overcast._

_She strained her eyes, wiping away tears… it seemed to be… a… ship? Yes, it was indeed a ship… deep, royal purple, with a metallic sheen and dotted with shimmering green lights and machinery._

_She realized—though she didn't know how—that this absolutely gargantuan ship was to blame for the destruction of the Tower. Slowly, something upon its surface moved…_

_…! Gun turrets! They swiveled on their joints, and pointed in her direction, aiming barrels at her that began to spark and glow with green plasma energy. They were about to fire…_

Just as the ship's guns erupted into fire, she fled. Flitting from side to side in the sky, she evaded the plasma fire and managed to get to the ground. Standing up straight, she broke into a run…

_Her ankle suddenly exploded in a burst of green light._

_"**AAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEH**!" _

_She shrieked in pain and stumbled, falling to her knees and clutching at the ruined ankle. Her fingers were soaked with warm, wet blood within seconds. She attempted to get up, but pain shot through her again, and she fell to the ground once more, whimpering softly as her eyes once again went awash with tears…she curled up into a small ball, the burning in her wound conflicting torturously with the cold, cruel wind being created by the ships engines._

_… Footsteps… footsteps drawing closer, crunching in the grassy sand beneath her…_

_She squirmed and opened her up her teary eyes with a feeble groan. Her vision swirled and blurred, but slowly it began to clear, and sharpen; her focus came back to her and she saw again._

_A shape advanced slowly upon her… _

_The black silhouette was small, a bit shorter than her and slightly smaller than Robin, but the sight of it filled her with fear. She gasped and rolled onto her back; then, she began kicking her legs as if to scoot backwards away from it…_

_But her mauled ankle, in her flailing, was caught on a jagged pebble and she howled with pain again, going limp and sobbing… _

_She looked up tearfully… and the figure was upon her. _

_She began trembling violently as it held up something in its right hand… it was a sword hilt. She saw the flash of green lights and gasses, and saw the sizzling blade materialize before her eyes. _

_It silently raised the terrible weapon up, casting a dark shadow over her. _

_She sniffled and shut her eyes tightly. "No… No… No…" She pleaded, her small voice wracked with pain and terror._

_It swung, and with one scream, everything went black._

* * *

Robin was ahead of schedule for the night. First cup of coffee and _already_ he had a headache. In addition to the ever-present threat of Trigon, was the fact that Ghost had disappeared to God-knows-where, and Zero and Smoke had yet to return from the mall… making him dread just how much they'd spent.

'Well… you DID tell them to use as much as they needed.' He chided himself.

He looked over the crime reports the police department had been sending in lately. Most of them were small stuff: burglary, mugging, robbery, etc… the police had handled all of that. But mundane as they were, he made it a point to scour over every last detail for anything unusual. With Raven's father on the attack again, you could never be too sure.

Slowly his eyes started going out of focus, the caffeine in the coffee failing to alleviate his self-imposed sleep deprivation.

Just as it seemed his head was about to thump forward onto the desk, sound asleep… he was yanked forcefully from his fatigue by a shrill scream down the hall.

Reflexes kicking in, his head jerked back so fast that it thumped against the head-board of his chair and caused him to fall out of it groaning. After recovering, he scrambled to his feet and broke into a run towards the source of the scream…

The cry was repeated again, and he realized it was coming from Starfire and Blackfire's room… he stopped and banged on the door.

"It's open!" Blackfire called from inside.

Robin opened the door and stumbled in, rubbing his head where he'd hit it a minute ago.

Blackfire was sitting with Star on her bed, holding her sister wrapped in the sheets to her shoulder. Star seemed to be sobbing violently, clutching at Blackfire's shoulder tightly.

"What… what happened?" Robin asked, alarmed.

"I… I think she had a nightmare…" Blackfire said slowly. "She was sleeping fine, and then… she just started screaming and thrashing around all the sudden!"

Starfire looked up slowly, wiping tears from her swollen eyes and staring.

"…… Robin…?" She moaned shakily.

He knelt down and put an arm around her, holding her tight against him. "Shh… I'm here. What's wrong? What happened?"

She sniffled and sighed. "… I… I had… an unpleasant dream."

Suddenly, she grabbed him around the neck in a tight hug and started sobbing again. "Oh… I am so happy you are unharmed! It was so real… I thought…"

"I'm fine." Robin insisted. "Everything's A-ok. Please don't cry…"

Starfire nodded and wiped her eyes, lying against his chest while he patted her back. "… Forgive me for waking you. I… I did not mean to…"

"Nah… I wasn't asleep anyway. And I'm pretty sure Blackfire can forgive you." He said, attempting to ease her distress.

"… Are you ok, though?" Blackfire said after a minute. "I mean, you're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"… No… I am all right. Just… frightened." She replied softly.

… As Robin's worry faded, the realization of just how close to him Starfire was dawned. He blushed heavily, and attempted to cover it up by turning his face away.

"… Sister… Robin… to see you both unharmed is most relieving. In my dream… I… I do not think you…" She couldn't finish.

"… What did you dream?" Blackfire asked.

"………" Star was silent for a moment, swallowing and drawing in a breath to steady herself. Then, she began recounting the dreadful night terror. "… I… was in the Tower… but… fire… there was so much smoke, and fire, and… everyone was gone! I… I looked; I could not find you! And as the tower collapsed upon itself—"

"What?" Robin interrupted, mouth agape.

"The tower was destroyed…" Star moaned. "And there was a ship outside!"

"… A… space ship?" Blackfire asked.

"Yes. It destroyed the Tower, and began firing upon me… I ran, but… I could not get away, and someone… someone with a blade was coming towards me… he… he…" Her voice trailed off weakly.

Robin decided quickly that he'd heard enough. "_Shhh_… don't even think about it any more. Just… get back to sleep, ok? I promise, none of it was real and you'll feel much better in the morning."

"… Yes. Thank you, Robin…" She leaned upwards… and kissed him on the cheek, tightening her embrace again. "But…"

"Yes?"

"… Will you stay with me a while?"

"Uhh…" Robin went stark red and gulped. "I mean… sure! If… Blackfire doesn't mind."

"No skin off my nose." Blackfire yawned. "I don't think I'm going to get to sleep again anyway; I'm not tired… so I guess I'll keep you company too, Sis."

"… Thank you…"

* * *

"Yeah, uh… I'd like two triple-cheeseburgers, plain… two orders of fries… and two large colas."

Geoforce was standing in line at a small downtown burger joint, intent on getting some dinner before they continued on their way again. Ryand'r, or Spaceman as Geo had taken to calling him, had been complaining of hunger for a while now, so finally the surfer-hippy had given in and stopped for some food.

Ryand'r himself was seated over at a booth in the corner, looking warily around the restaurant. He poked the saltshaker with a straw as if he thought it might be alive… yeah, ok. He kinda stood out. His scary-looking, pupil-less green eyes had gotten them some weird stares, but Geo had done some quick thinking and explained it off as tinted contacts.

After a couple minutes of waiting, the food came out on a tray and Geo paid up and thanked the waitress. He hefted the tray and brought it over to the booth where Ryand'r had taken a seat.

"… Are all sustenance-providing facilities on your planet so… greasy…?" He asked slowly, eying the place distastefully.

"Nah, just the good ones. Here… take a bite outta this; see if you like it." He said, offering him a burger.

The extraterrestrial stared suspiciously at the fast-food item for about thirty seconds… and finally took it in one hand. He drew in a deep breath, taking a whiff of the smell…

… And downed the entire damn burger in one swallow.

Geo dropped his napkin and the shades slid off his face, revealing a pair of bugged out eyes.

"… Yes… this is… certainly acceptable." Ryand'r said, licking his lips. "Have you any more?"

"Uh… well, here's your fries, Spacedude…"

"What?"

"Uh… they're fried potatoes."

"What are these… potatoes, you speak of?"

"It's a vegetable. Here Man, just try it!" He insisted, sprinkling a bit of salt on the French fries and handing them to Ryand'r.

Once again, Ryand'r tilted his head back and poured all the fries in at once, swallowing them whole. This garnered another stunned stare from Geoforce.

"… Dude… does everybody eat like that where you come from?"

"Like what?" Ryand'r asked.

"…Um… Nevermind. Here, you better take my burger too… you're gonna need it with a bottomless pit of a stomach like you got. I'll just go get another…"

Geoforce walked back over to the ordering counter as Ryand'r continued to inhale the food down like a vacuum cleaner.

But just as he opened his mouth to order some more food, he heard something… just slightly, and only softly, but it was definitely there. High pitched and whirring, coming from outside the building…

… Sirens?

He walked over to a window and wiped some of the fog off…

… To see about half a dozen police cars parked outside.

"…… Aw man…" He motioned to Ryand'r. "Hey dude… you might have to make that order to go…"

* * *

"… You… did… **_what_**…?"

If words could kill, Cyborg would have been dismantled many times over and Ghost would be a definite victim of overkill.

The look on Raven's face was strange, as though she were going to either set them ablaze right then and there, or pass out on the spot… whichever came first. "… You… were in my MIRROR?"

"Yes." Ghost said surprisingly calmly. "But not intentionally, and if I may say so… it rather wasn't my idea of a scenic vacation."

"Tell me about it…" Cyborg groaned. "I've been there, too."

"…….." Raven was silent.

"Are you… Ok?" Cyborg asked her slowly. "I mean, you passed out earlier."

"I might be better if people hadn't been horseplaying around inside my mind!" She snapped venomously.

"Please… Forgive me, but… I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Ghost tried to explain.

Cyborg stood up from his chair and cocked an eyebrow. "But… why were you in here to start with?"

"I…"

Ghost suddenly went red. "I… I mean…"

"… Cyborg, could you leave the room please?" Raven asked… although it was more in a tone that translated as, 'Cyborg, get the Hell out, please.'

"Uh… S-sure…" He stammered. He mouthed the words 'good luck' to Ghost, and bolted out the door, obviously figuring Raven was not a good person to be around right now.

"…………."

"…………."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"…. It was you… wasn't it…?"

"… Yes… yes, I was in your mind. I apologize whole heartedly; I'm so sorry, and I never should hav—"

"No. … These…"

Raven reached over and opened a drawer on the side of her desk, from which she produced the bouquet from earlier.

"Oh… those…" Ghost gulped. "……… Yes."

"……… Why?"

Such a simple and blatant question caught Ghost off guard. But then, Raven didn't seem angry any longer… rather, she seemed very… confused.

"Why did you do this?" She repeated.

"…… I…" He mentally smacked himself. "… I wanted to… that is…"

There was another pause, in which she stared at him expectantly.

_'… Yeah… I'm going to get vaporized for this_.' He gulped mentally.

Tired of being tongue tied, Ghost finally blurted out, "I think you're beautiful."

… **THAT** definitely wasn't what Raven had been expecting. She stumbled back a little like somebody'd smacked her, and stared.

Taking advantage of her stunned silence, Ghost continued. "I… I'm sorry. I know this is blunt, sudden, and completely irrational… but… I feel I must speak my feelings. You saved my life, so to speak, and… ever since then, I've been unable to so much as look at you without feeling… different."

"………."

"… Every time I looked at you, I always felt… strange. My heart starts pounding, and I could barely breath… and I can't help but think that I've never seen anything so stunning in this brief life, or the last life."

"… You can't remember your last life." Raven pointed out softly.

"No… but if I had seen anything in that life that even remotely approached your beauty…" He looked up, his one good eye somber through its monocle. "… I surely would have remembered it."

"………" Raven was becoming uncomfortably warm, and she suspected there was more to it than the AC/heating system.

"…… I'm… I'm sorry. This is all ridiculous." Ghost said dismally, hanging his head. "… I barely even know you. I should be ashamed of myself. I'll… I'll leave you alone now…"

He glided forward and began to materialize through the wall.

"_NO_!"

Startled, Ghost stopped half-way through, resulting in a strange effect: half of him protruded from the wall, looking confused.

Raven clapped a hand over her mouth, completely clueless as to where that outburst had come from. It felt as if someone else had been speaking through her mouth… probably that blasted Pinkie again… She finally collected herself and spoke. "No… stay."

He hesitantly reemerged from the wall, and sat down cross-legged in mid-air, floating.

"…… Ghost… I… I'm flattered. But… I can't. I can't… feel anything for you. Or anyone... it's not safe."

"You can't…?" Ghost asked. "… Or you won't?"

Taken aback, she stared at him, face flushed. Unsure of a response to that, she walked over to the bouquet and picked it up, staring wistfully…

… And she noticed something she never had before.

There, among the flowers, a small edge of paper stuck out. Curious, she took hold of it and tugged…

It was a card. No print on it, just a plain card with a heart on it… but there, in red ink, it appeared someone had clumsily scrawled the word, 'RAVEN' on it in what looked like a young child's handwriting.

She turned to him. "… Did you do that?"

"….. Yes…" He suddenly looked panicked. "wait… that IS your name, isn't it? Raven? Please, if it's not, I didn't mean to—"

"Yeah. That's…. that's it. But I thought you couldn't—"

He cut her off midsentence and pointed to the door to her room, which was emblazoned with the word **RAVEN**.

"……. You… copied it off my door?" She asked incredulously.

"… Yes. I didn't know how to write it, so… I… I tried to copy it…"

"… How long did that take you?

"Um… about… I guess a half-hour or so…"

Raven approached him slowly, and he flinched, expecting her to lash out angrily for being so stupid.

He jerked slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder… and hesitantly opened his eyes. Raven stood there, gazing at him with something between sadness and confusion. "… You spent thirty minutes copying my name off my door so you could write in on a card?"

"………"

"…… Ghost… I…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Would you stop apologizing already?" Raven said, slightly irked.

"Sorry… Uh, I mean—"

"Nevermind." She sighed. "… What I started to say was…" She paused. "… That I don't know what to say."

"… May I ask you for something?"

"You just did. You asked me for permission to ask for something." She said dryly.

"Uh… well… can I… ask you another thing?"

"… What?"

"… A second chance. I completely botched the first one so… I'll just be blunt."

He sank back to the ground and got on one knee. "Raven… would you… give me the honor of having dinner with you tonight?"

For a moment, Raven stared numbly. "I…"

She felt like she'd swallowed a bunch of moths all the sudden… the phrase, 'butterflies in the stomach' took on a whole new meaning.

"… Yes."

The word shocked Raven as it left her lips, almost as much as it shocked Ghost.

"You… will?" Ghost asked, suddenly looking elated.

"… I would… love to."

"…….. Splendid! Tonight then…" He said, sprouting his enormous wings and flapping through her door without even opening it, disappearing.

Raven wasn't sure whether she was happy or horrified with herself.

* * *

Cyborg saw Ghost emerge from her doorway, and stand there shakily.

He approached Ghost, concerned. "Dude… are you ok?"

Without so much as a word, Ghost thumped to the floor, out like a broken light bulb.

Cyborg '_tsk_'ed. "Poor guy. Raven musta given 'im the chewing out of his life."


	19. Chapter EighteenPart One

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Eighteen…Part One_**

"… Are we there yet?" Gizmo whined from the backseat, having elected simply to place the T-Ship on autopilot rather than drive it the whole way.

Jinx scowled and looked out the window, through which only white clouds and empty blue air were visible. "… Do you THINK we're there yet…?" She snapped.

"… (_sigh_)… No…"

"Then why did you even ask?"

"Because I'm _bored_!"

"And you think I'm not?" Jinx snapped.

"… Uh… Guys…" Mammoth started.

Gizmo blew Jinx a loud raspberry, prompting her to grit her teeth for a second, and then start chasing the impish genius around the ship.

"… _Grrr_… _Guys_…" Mammoth continued, an annoyed anime vein throbbing in his forehead.

They didn't listen. Gizmo just kept hopping around the ship cackling and blowing raspberries as Jinx shouted colorful expletives and chased him around, taking swings—though she usually just hit the windows or walls, prompting additional strings of obscenities.

Mammoth snarled. "… **_GUYS_**! Shut the Hell up before you wake Shimmer, will ya?"

THAT got them quiet.

"She's been sleeping the whole trip so far… and I'd prefer to keep it that way." Mammoth grunted. "… I just want to get this over with and get back home."

"Y'know… for someone whose parents have just died… you're not very bereft." Jinx said slowly, sitting back down and shooting Gizmo a couple death-glares.

"Yeah, well… I never liked 'em that much anyway… only reason I'm doin' this is so Shimmer won't kick my ass." He explained. "… And I am NOT going to wear a tux!"

"You have to!" Jinx snapped. "This is a funeral! I'm going to wear black; you might as well, too."

"You always wear black. You have nothing BUT black…" Gizmo pointed out.

"… Well… I have some purple stuff too. And pink." Jinx said defensively. "I just don't wear it much; that's all…"

"Yeah… suuuure you do…" Gizmo snickered.

Mammoth rolled his eyes. "Point is: it's not a big deal or anything. Just… don't say that around Shimmer… she actually liked the old coots for some reason."

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" Raven muttered frantically to herself, pacing the floor of her room back and forth. "This is not going to happen. This is… is… ridiculous… Why did I say yes? Huh? Just tell me that!" She berated herself furiously. "I… I should have…" 

Abruptly, she swung around and faced a decorative red-eyed raven statue on her bookshelf. "_DID I ASK YOU WHAT YOU THINK_?" She fumed, prompting a nearby lamp on a table to burst into black sparks for no apparent reason, all her candles suddenly flaring up in an inexplicable manner.

… And at that point… she realized she was starting to lose it.

Forcing herself to sit down, calm herself, and think this through rationally, she closed her eyes and counted to ten, taking a few deep breaths.

For whatever the reason… the idea of spending some time with Ghost… did sound… appealing… but…

… No. It was totally… completely… out of the question.

…. But _why_?

Her mind seemed almost to be divided into halves, bickering as to why this was or wasn't a good idea.

"I'd only be putting people in danger…" She said sternly. "And besides… Jinx would never let me hear the end of it…"

'But you already promised him…' Something in her mind countered.

"I didn't promise!" She mumbled. "I… I mean…"

There was no point in arguing at this point… especially with herself, the most stubborn person she could possibly argue with.

At a loss as to what to do, she stepped over and flopped down onto her bed.

As much as it seemed against her common sense, and as much as she tried to deny it… Deep inside she knew what she _really_ wanted to—and had to—do.

* * *

"…. I'm doomed…" Moaned Ghost. "What was I THINKING? I've set myself up to make a fool of myself!" 

"Oh, now come on… it can't be that bad…" Cyborg assured. "I mean, hey… the hard part is over. I can't believe she actually wanted t'go! That don't seem like Raven at all…"

Cyborg handed Ghost a glass of soda, which he took with a muffled 'thanks' and downed quickly.

"Come on, Dawg. You've already come this far; you can't back out now."

"But… I don't know how to—"

"Just be yourself." Cyborg interrupted with a shrug. "That's as much as you can do."

"… Right…" He sighed. "… But… What would I _wear_?"

"What you got on." Cyborg responded. "I'm pretty sure Raven's just gonna wear that cloak of hers anyway; I think that's all she's got."

Ghost's eyes traveled about the room nervously… there were numerous sports-trophies in cases on the walls and shelves, and various gadgets and tools lying around his desk. In place of a bed, Cyborg instead had a large table propped up at an angle, which he hooked himself to in order to charge up. … There in the corner was something vaguely human-sized, covered over by a cloth tarp.

"… Say… what's under there?" Ghost asked.

Cyborg hastily moved it out of the way, behind a bookshelf—and Ghost distinctly heard the sound of something large and metal scraping against the floor…

"Oh that… it's… junk… it's nothing, really, just old stuff… really should put it up out of the way…" He said quickly.

Ghost arched an eyebrow, but questioned him no further. Instead, he focused on the clock nearby…

"It's four in the afternoon now. I've only got a couple hours to decide where to go and what to do…" He lamented. "… What does Raven eat…?"

"Uh…. Blood? Souls? Human flesh…?" Cyborg suggested with a snicker.

"I'm being serious!" Ghost groaned.

"… Well… you could always try Waffle-House. Or any place with tea… or maybe a cemetery…"

"…………"

"…. Look, this is Raven we're talking about, here; whaddya want from me?"

"… I understand. I'm sorry… I'll just… think of someplace on my own."

"… Eh, sorry I ain't much help. It's just that… I don't have any better ideas than you. If Jinx was here, she'd probably be able to help; she knows Raven better than anybody…" That seemed to trigger an idea. He grinned. "Well, there ya go! Just call her up on the communicator and ask her for some ideas!"

"Oh, um… are you sure? I mean, I don't really want to interrupt her—"

"Nah. Jinx is used to being interrupted. She hangs out with Gizmo and Mammoth, doesn't she?"

"…… Point taken. Thank you for the advice." Ghost thanked his large mechanical friend before disappearing through the floor with a hiss of black smoke.

……

…….

Cyborg looked around a couple times and then slowly crept back over to the large, cloth-obscured object…

"Right then. Now I can put some more work into this baby… just you… and me…"

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!**

Cyborg groaned and stepped grudgingly over to the doorway. Opening it up with a heavy sigh, he saw none other than Smoke.

"… What the…? What are you—"

"Just lemme in; I'll explain…" Smoke said hastily, going into the room and carting a large wrapped package over his shoulder.

He placed the thing on the ground with a loud clank, and turned to face Cyborg with a grim expression. "… I need… some help."

Cyborg blinked. "What kind of help?"

"Oh, y'know… hydraulics … paintjob… spinners… general automotive bling…" Smoke grinned. "Right up your alley."

* * *

"Come on, come on, pick up, pick up, pick up…" Ghost urged, gnashing his teeth nervously as he stared at the blank screen of the Titan's Communicator he had borrowed from Beast Boy. 

There was a fizzling noise for a moment… and then, the screen flickered to life with an image of Jinx looking very irate.

"Ghost? What do _YOU_ want?" Jinx glowered at the screen. "… And where have you _BEEN_ anyway?"

"Eh… sorry… Did I call at a bad time…?" Ghost asked slowly, a little unnerved by her narrow eyes and biting voice.

"Bad time? No… just… there's an annoying midget that just happens to have the IQ of a brainsurgeon sitting a few feet away from me…" There was the sound of a loud raspberry blown in the background, and she sighed heavily. "… What do you need?"

"Uh… well… I was kind've hoping for some advice…"

"Advice…?" Jinx asked, cocking her head. "… What kind of advice?"

"… Well… it… concerns Raven."

Jinx fumbled around offscreen for a second, a reappeared with a can of tea. Opening it up, she shook her head gravely.

"Look… if you're about to ask what I think you're about to ask, it's no good."

He blinked. "… What?"

"… She would never go out with anyone, much less—"

"Oh no, you misunderstand me!" Ghost interrupted.

Jinx blinked. "That's not what you were going to ask about?" She asked, taking a swig of the tea.

"Well… sort've, see…. She's already agreed." He explained. "And since you know Raven better than most people, I was wondering what sort of place I might take her?"

Jinx abruptly began to choke violently and spit out tea. "… **_WHAT_**?"

Ghost stared. "Are you ok?"

"She _WHAT_?" Jinx repeated, still reeling under the revelation.

"…… She… uh… already said 'yes'… when I asked… t-to take her to dinner…" Ghost explained nervously.

Jinx stared with a somewhat stunned look as though she'd been struck in the head. And then, collapsed abruptly out of sight onto the floor, in a hysterical fit of laughter. Ghost sweatdropped as he heard the muffled voices of Mammoth and Gizmo in the background; Gizmo saying something about "lost it" and Mammoth muttering something about "waking psychobitch."

Ghost sighed. "……."

"This… th-this is… too good t-to be true!" Jinx whooped, nearly in tears with laughter. "I knew it! I KNEW Raven had it in her!"

"….. Now… about my question…?" Ghost urged, starting to become slightly irked with her.

"Oh… hehehe… right…" She managed to calm herself down. "Sorry, it's just… after how adamant she was the other day, this is just priceless. Anyway… I can't really help you much… I mean, as long as it's dark and quiet she'll probably like it… I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to use your own judgement…"

He sighed. "Well… thank you anyway…"

* * *

_**Two Hours Later…**_

"……" Raven stared silently at herself in the mirror. Something was… different. There was a feeling, a sensation, rising up inside her that had never been stirred before. Something like… anxiousness, yet impatience. Like fear, yet anticipation. And a feeling of wanting to get it over with, but at the same time wanting to make these seconds last forever.

… She was dressed exactly as normal, no changes or embellishments. Truth be told, she didn't actually own anything other than her usual cloak-and-leotard ensemble; she couldn't have dressed up if she wanted to.

What worried her right now though, far more than her appearance, was the distinct possibility of what might happen tonight.

"… You've done it now." She told her reflection in the small enchanted hand-mirror. "… You've really done it. You're going to lose it. You're going to let your concentration slip, just for a moment, and open yourself up… and then what? Someone's car will explode?"

Her reflection was cold and unresponsive… even more so than the real her.

"… You're a fool, you know." She continued as though she were talking to a completely separate person. "… If you were smart, you'd have locked yourself in your room, and not so much as looked at him. Not even a glance."

…. Only silence.

"… That's what did us in. We looked at him, didn't we?" She demanded impatiently. "And that's when smart-ass cupid decided to shoot us right in the chest."

… Her reflection mirrored her annoyance.

"… I should have known. You got me in trouble with Malchior, and now you're getting me in trouble… with Ghost."

The face in her mirror, all at once so like and unlike her, mimicked her every word as though to mock her.

"… I hate you. I hate you all. Emotions… I can't live with you, and I can't live without you. Sure, you have your redeeming qualities and your moments, but when it all boils down to it, you're useless: you cause people pain, you make people think and act irrationally… and all for what? Some… guy? … You sicken me."

Her small mirror almost seemed to glow at these words, perhaps in protest.

"… Why? Why him? I mean… there's nothing wrong with him, but… I don't understand. I barely even know him, so…"

She trailed off… and sat the mirror down. Instead, she reached for the little bouquet he'd given her, now in an ornate glass vase with ribbons and fresh water.

Slowly, wistfully, she plucked the petals from one of the flowers, one by one…

"… I love him… I love him not… I love him… I love him not… I love him…"

* * *

Ghost wondered vaguely whether he should go ahead and start digging, as well as measuring himself for a casket. 

"… I can do this…" He muttered to himself, though he was much less convinced than he sounded… and he didn't sound very convinced in the first place. "I just… have to keep calm. Act friendly. Smile…"

… Was it just him or was this hallway a lot longer than it used to be?

Forcing this thought aside, he picked up his pace and kept walking…

Finally, he found Raven's doorway. He recognized it mainly because he'd spent so long staring wistfully at her name stamped on it, trying to make sure his feeble attempt at writing her moniker was at least somewhat similar to the original.

He raised his fist to knock—and hesitated. What if she wasn't ready? What if she'd changed her mind? What if—

Shaking these thoughts from his mind, and bracing himself, he took a long, deep, revitalizing breath of air and knocked firmly on her door three times.

The door slid itself open, and Raven stood on the other side, looking (surprisingly) nearly as awkward and unsure of the situation as Ghost.

Raven felt a lump forming in her throat, and she suddenly grew lightheaded.

For a long moment, nothing was said, between them… Then…

"… Thank you." Ghost said abruptly.

Raven made as if to say something, but had to swallow the aforementioned lump before anything would come out. "… For… what?"

"A second chance." He said softly. And then, hoping he wasn't about to get lit up like a trailer park on the fourth of July, he held out one hand and said the one thing he knew to say. "… Shall we?"

She hesitated, much as he had done when he'd started to knock… and then, slowly, her hand traveled to his.

"… Yeah…" The word left her lips, and all the sudden… bit by bit, her worries faded into insignificance.

He smiled and started walking… but not towards the downstairs areas. Rather, towards the higher floors…

"Um… Ghost…" Raven started hesitantly. "… The exit is down there…"

"I know." He said cheerfully. "We're taking a shortcut into the city."

She blinked "… Shortcut…?"

"Just trust me." He assured, taking her with him, not a difficult task considering her relatively pitiful weight.

For whatever the reason, she didn't resist.

After taking a few flights of steps up, Ghost opened the door leading to the roof and held it open for her. "Ladies first."

Raven blushed slightly and went through, curious as to where he was going with all this. She shivered a bit and pulled up her hood, to shield herself against the night breeze. It was rather cool out tonight… very windy.

"Why are we up here?" She asked. "And what, 'shortcut' are you talking about?"

He gave her a sly smile, revealing his slightly pointed canines which, though unnerving, were still a lovely shade of pearly white.

"Why walk when you can fly?"

She stared. "… Oh… but… we won't save THAT much time." She said. "… and… besides… It's windy out. I'd have to spend so much concentration on keeping my path straight, I—"

"No, not you. Me." He said simply. "I meant for you to ride."

She stared bemusedly. "……… You're serious?"

"… Sure. You hang on, I fly, you ride. I promise we'll get there a lot quicker." He assured.

"…….."

He walked over and extended an arm. "… Trust me."

With one semi-suspicious glance, she took his hand…

… And he promptly flipped her up into his arms like a sack of potatoes.

"Oomph! What are you—" She started, but she was cut off.

He abruptly broke into a dash, his sandal-clad feet tapping silently against the smooth roof. And before Raven could so much as protest, the roof just sort've… stopped. But they kept going.

The next thing Raven felt was a stomach-churning sense of vertigo as they did a full spin in midair and began hurtling downwards like a human-cannonball-gone-wrong; the wind shrieked in her ears as they plummeted towards the ground.

Raven wasn't typically one to scream, but in this case she made an exception. "**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_**!"

"Calm yourself!" He hollered, struggling to be heard over the air whistling in their ears, along with the popping induced by the sudden change in altitude.

With a loud flap, his wings unfurled from his back and he gave a mighty heave. Raven's already abused stomach did another back flip as they suddenly made a 90 degree turn and began flying headlong towards the city like a bullet on crack. It was a miracle that she didn't get ripped away from him simply from wind-resistance.

Once it became apparent that she was no longer in mortal peril, she willed her eyes to open, and groaned, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Are you alright?" Ghost asked concernedly as if they'd just done something as routine as getting on and off an elevator.

"I'm… fine now. The leap off the roof of a multi-story tower was… a bit much…" She moaned dryly, going a little green in the face.

"Well… let's go get something to eat." He said brightly.

"…. How can you think about eating after that?"

"… What? I'm hungry…"

"………" She remained silent, apparently unable to think of a comeback for that.

"So… where shall we go?" He asked.

"… Well… I'd kinda prefer the ground, but…"

"No, I meant to eat. Or if you're really not hungry, we could—"

"I know what you meant." She said with something like half-a-smile. "… I was being facetious."

"… Oh. Right then." He blushed, a little embarrassed by his gullibility. "Ehehehe…"

She suddenly broke into a wide smile, prompting a confused stare from him.

"… It's just good to be able to use words like '_facetious_' and have people know what it means." She said simply. "Uh… how about we just… look around?"

"Alright. Then have a look!" He said, motioning below them…

Considering they were currently at an altitude higher than the roof of the Tower, the view was breathtaking. They were just high enough to give them a vast view of the city, but just low enough to prevent it from being obscured by clouds. Jump City was spread out below them like a vast painting, the tops of buildings flashing with lights and colors as tiny swarms of dots, people and vehicles, moved around it.

Raven's digestive tract began doing the Irish jig again, and she elected simply to look back and prop her head against Ghost's chest. "… I can't really tell any good places from this height…" She said.

"I know." He said with a light chuckle. "I was being facetious."

She turned her head slowly and looked at him incredulously. She couldn't help laughing a little at that, despite her current situation. "…… Are you just… trying, to take away my appetite?"

"… No. But it's surprisingly easy to do, and if hey, it would mean more for me." He joked.

Raven suddenly comprehended the position she was currently in: curled slightly with Ghost's hand under her legs and the other wrapped around her back, with her arms curled around his neck. She flushed red, unused to be so close to anyone. Thankfully, Ghost was so deeply concentrating on his flight, he didn't seem to notice.

"I guess we should land and start looking for a place…"

He began to gradually descend, wondering where to land… they needed a spot that wouldn't attract too much attention; people with sharp canines and large bat wings sometimes drew negative reactions.

"Try the park." Raven suggested. "There's not many people there this time of night, so you shouldn't freak anyone out…" Her eyes narrowed. "By the way…" She hesitated slightly. "… Have your… teeth… always been like that?"

"Huh?" He asked, blushing. "What about them?"

"… Your front teeth are… pointed and sharp. Have they always been like that?"

He blinked. "Uh… are yours not?"

She opened her mouth and bared her teeth, all of which were perfectly normal.

"Oh. Well…" He flushed again. "Yeah, they've always been like that."

"…" She stared. "… You wouldn't happen to have an irrational phobia of garlic or crosses, would you?" She asked dryly.

He shook his head confusedly. "No. Not at all. I actually rather like garlic, and… well… I'm not scared of crosses." He cocked his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Eh… just… wondering…" She said evasively, remaining deliberately vague.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "You're kind've an odd one, y'know?"

"Yeah…" She said flatly. "… So I've been told."

Sensing a little bitterness in her voice, he added quickly: "But I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, no offense to Starfire, but… girls like her are a dime-a-dozen. Eh… minus the whole alien-and-energy-blasts-thing. You, however…. Are one of a kind."

Raven went deep scarlet and pretended to cough into her hood… somehow, Ghost didn't notice.

As they neared the large park, Raven spotted something moving. Just a small, black shape that was moving slightly in the other wise inanimate landscape, and thus, easily noticeable.

Squinting her azure eyes to see, she realizes it was a pair of people. Two human silhouettes, one slightly smaller than the other, standing near a small lake. They seemed to be standing close together, and she was sure, but they might have even been holding hands.

Just as she started to say something to Ghost about it, the clouds parted and the black night, formerly broken only by the lights cast from the city, was flooded by an ethereal wash of pale, reflective moonlight. The moonbeams fanned forth and illuminated the entire area, and she saw them both clearly.

It was a young man and a young woman, standing and holding hands next to the lake, which now glimmered and ebbed in the night lights… two young people out on a date.

In front of her eyes, the young man slowly bent over… and kissed the girl on the cheek, prompting a sudden blush and what looked to be a soft giggle……… Raven was transfixed. It was like a train wreck; she couldn't look away. Something about the sight… made her feel… _strange_…

Suddenly, without even thinking about it, a bizarre, yet wonderful and euphoric passion shot through her, and for no real reason, she reached over and grabbed the unsuspecting Ghost by his collar, and gave him a full kiss on the lips.

… For about thirty seconds, he almost seemed to freeze dead still in midair…

When she pulled away, she was gasping for breath and flushed heavily. Ghost stared numbly for a second, and then…

He fell unconscious on the spot, and started plummeting downwards…

* * *

"…… _Uggh_…" 

Ghost's eyes slowly slid open, the world around him pitch-black and blurry, a bland shadowy vortex...

For a moment, he wondered vaguely where he was and why he was there…? But then, it hit him like a sack of brass French fries and he remembered everything; he suddenly sat blot upright and looked frantically around the area.

"… Raven?" He called out. There was no response. Panicked, he yelled, "_RAVEN_!" His voice, however, simply echoed back to him uselessly.

"…. Mmm… uhh…. Gh-ghost…?" A small voice groaned from nearby.

He froze. "… Raven?"

"… Ghost…. Here…"

It was coming over from his left… he stumbled to his feet and dashed over into a large dark clearing. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Raven appeared to be suspended from a tree limb by the edge of her cloak, shaken up but otherwise unharmed. "I'm… up here…" She called shakily.

He flapped up to her level and carefully removed her from the tree branch, careful not to hurt her. Then, he brought them back to ground level and examined her, panicked. "Are you alright? I… I dunno… what came over me, I just…"

"Sorry…" She interrupted. "… I… I shouldn't have… uncalled for…" She trailed off, crimson red.

… Apparently, they were both tongue-tied.

"Well… it just goes to show… either you have a very powerful set of lips, or I just have the emotional fortitude of a blender."

"…… Or both." She suggested, smiling.

He looked up with surprise, and noticed: there was something…… wrong. Well, maybe not wrong… maybe strange was a better word. He couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something in her look, her manner… that was distinctly un-Raveney.

"…… Are you sure you're all right?" He asked softly.

She smiled broadly. "I've never been better… Now how about we go get something to eat?"

Without so much as waiting on a response, she literally grabbed him by the hand, and—with strength that was startling considering her tiny frame—quite forcefully dragged him along behind her on the way to the city, Ghost following in numb silence.

* * *

_**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

Ghost had a gut feeling something had changed in Raven as they walked through the doorway into the "Black Rose Coffee House". They actually had more than coffee; they served steaks and salads as well… but more to the point, Raven was not acting like… well… Raven.

She hadn't let go of his hand since she'd taken hold of it in the park. And as they'd passed shop windows in search of some dinner, she'd taken to remarking brightly how cute, or tacky, or beautiful, or weird, each individual item was, all the while dragging Ghost along energetically and clinging to his arm.

… He wasn't sure what had happened to her, but he actually… kinda liked it. Thus explaining his broad smile as they followed the black-tuxedo clad waiter to their table.

It was almost as if Raven was wondering the same thing. She said, "I don't know what's come over me tonight. It's just… I don't… think I've ever been this happy in my life."

"That's good." Ghost said with a smile. "… But I wager you'd be happier if you had something to eat."

Raven gave an uncharacteristic bubbly laugh and nodded. "You're damned right."

This prompted a stunned stare from Ghost, an embarrassed flush from Raven… and then they both broke into unprovoked laughter.

They followed the waiter to their table, where they placed their orders: Ghost (after Raven read off the menu to him) ordered a plate of fried rice with a side of chicken fingers, and Raven ordered a large bowl of potato soup with a small salad. Both of them had chosen tea as their drink.

While waiting for their food, they looked around the dimmed, almost hazy restaurant and Raven sighed heavily. "This is… so relaxing…" She said softly.

He smiled. "Yes. I'm glad you picked out this place."

She nodded and beamed. "So… what do you want to do after this?"

"Hm?" The question caught him off guard.

"Well, we can't just eat and go back home. That would be boring!" Raven stated as if it were obvious. "Let's go… see a movie, or something."

He blinked for a moment, and then nodded. "Of course! I'm just surprised. You're not… like yourself tonight at all."

"I know…" She gushed. "Isn't it great? I've never felt so… _alive_!"

Abruptly, there was a loud rumbling noise.

"…… Or hungry, apparently." Ghost added while Raven blushed and had to contain laughter.

Their food came soon enough, and they both wolfed it down in record time. Raven dug into that soup like a fat kid digs into cake, and Ghost wasted no time in putting his unnaturally sharp teeth to work on that rice and chicken.

For the record, they'd both finished their meals within five minutes, and both still felt a bit hungry after that. So, they ordered a large rhubarb pie and split it between themselves, and ordering a couple glasses of chilled milk to wash the whole thing down.

After paying the rather sizeable bill, they left the place behind, in search of something to do.

"That was delicious!" Raven said, smacking her fingers lightly.

"Yes. And the pie was especially good." Ghost added with a muffled belch, putting his hand over his mouth. "Where to now?"

"Actually…" Raven suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Ghost stared. "What?"

Raven turned and smiled widely at him. She reached into her cloak and took out a small black wallet. "Robin gave us permission to use as much as we wanted, soo…." She pulled out a respectable amount and handed it to Ghost. "Go get some clothes!"

He stared incredulously. "… Huh?"

"Well, that trenchcoat HAS to be awkward… and I'm getting a little stuffy in this cloak. What do you say we go get something more comfortable?" She said slyly.

"From where?" He asked.

"Look around, Smart One." She said, rolling her eyes and waving her hands towards the rather numerous stores and shops around them. "There's clothes stores everywhere."

"But… what should I get?" he asked, not quite sure what was considered appropriate for a date.

"Just whatever's comfortable." She assured. "Just surprise me!" And with that, she was gone, off towards some stores…

Ghost sighed and murmured to himself: "… Why not…?"

* * *

Ghost stared at himself in the mirror. "Well… it's not as bad as it could have been…" 

He was currently wearing the set of clothing he'd just bought: a baggy gray hoodie, and a pair of black denim jeans, with a small golden crucifix on a silver chain around his neck. He wore thick white socks with a pair of brown leather sandals, and kept his monocle, lest he walk the city nearly-blind.

"… I suppose this doesn't look too bad. I ought to go find Raven…" he reasoned to himself.

Unfortunately for his cardiovascular system, Raven found him.

He was tapped abruptly on the shoulder, and turned around… only to be blinded by the hottest thing humankind had beheld since the sun.

…. There stood Raven, in a pink tank-top that left her midriff completely bare, along with a jet-black miniskirt made from what looked to be leather. A long, fluffy neon-pink bola was wrapped about her neck like a scarf, and her height had been noticeably boosted by the presence of platform-heeled boots. Most shocking, however…… was the fact that she was wearing—dare I say it—Earrings.

Raven…. With earrings.

To be more specific, relatively large circular earrings that reminded one of miniature hula-hoops.

"Well…" She purred sultrily. "… How do I look?"

There was a long awkward pause.

Ghost swallowed and managed… "Do you want… the long list or the short one?"

"Uh… what's… the long list?"

"Admirable, alluring, angelic, appealing, beauteous, bewitching, charming, classy, comely, cute, dazzling, delicate, delightful, divine, elegant, enticing, excellent, exquisite, fair, fascinating, fine, foxy, good-looking, gorgeous, graceful, grand, handsome, ideal, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, nice, pleasing, pretty, pulchritudinous, radiant, ravishing, refined, resplendent, shapely, sightly, splendid, statuesque, stunning, sublime, superb, symmetrical, taking, well-formed, wonderful—"

"OK! I get it!" She snapped playfully, rolling her blue eyes. "What the short list…?"

"…… Really… really… hot…" _He_ said hoarsely.

She giggled, tickling the underside of his chin with her curved index finger. "… Eloquently said, my little walking thesaurus…"


	20. Chapter EighteenPart Two

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Eighteen... Part Two..._**

"So… what should we watch?" Raven asked Ghost, still clinging unusually to his arm.

"Oh, uh… I… don't know…" He stammered. "… You pick…"

"Hm… Well…" She squinted to see the large lit screen of the theatre above them. "… There's… Thirteen Ghosts…"

Ghost went pale.

"… I know what you did last summer…"

He blinked.

"… Scream…"

He shuddered. "I just might…"

"… And… phantom of the opera."

He sighed. "Well… that one doesn't sound… too bad."

"Oh, you'd love it!" She squealed, grabbing his arm. "Let's go see it!"

Well, as it turned out, tonight was double-feature night. One could go and see two movies for only the price of one. So after much hesitation, and lots of coercion, Raven convinced Ghost to come watch one entitled "Van Helsing" with her, insisting that it was not nearly as frightening as it looked.

* * *

Phantom of the Opera began shortly after Van Helsing ended, and thus, they were nearly six hours later leaving the theatre. Strangely, neither of them was that tired… although there was another problem…

"… ( Sn-_sniffle_)… I… f-feel so s-sorry for the ph-phantom…" Raven sobbed softly, blowing her nose into a tissue from the box Ghost was holding, sweatdropping.

"… There there…" Ghost attempted to cheer her up, smiling. "… I mean, it could have been worse. He could have not escaped and thus, been captured and executed via musket-firing squad."

"… (Sniff)…. _**WAAAAH**_!"

… Smooth there, Ghost.

He hastily wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. "But he did get away, didn't he?" He added hastily. "Who knows? I'll bet he found another person out there someday…"

"You think so?" Raven said slowly, wiping her eyes.

"Yes. I think it… quite likely." Ghost said with a smile. "Now… what next? It's getting rather late…"

"Late, shmate…" Raven dismissed. "The night's young, and there's an amusement park still open on the edge of town. Can we go? Huh? Can we, can we, can we?" She begged, like an overactive kid.

He blinked bemusedly for a moment, staring in wide-eyed incredulousness. Then, he broke into a wide grin and said, "Why not?"

_**An Hour and a Half Later…**_

'… I'm going… to die…… again…'

The words floated across Ghost's mind as he stared upwards several hundred feet to the massive roller coaster Raven had dragged him in line for. Far be it from him to disappoint her, however; thus, he was stuck on the ride, cowardly as he was.

The wait in line, all the way to getting into the coaster-car, seemed like a blur to Ghost, going by in a matter of seconds. But once he sat down and buckled himself in, everything promptly seemed to slow down to an agonizingly slothful tempo, the rusted clanks of the wheels going in slow, steady rhythm as they began to ascend to the top of a monstrous arch in the path.

And then, like a skip in a piece of film, they were abruptly at the top, looking out over a vast horizon filled with flashing lights of every color and hue imaginable, the neon gaudy tints and shades of the park…

… The beauty of the scene was short lived, however…

…………… **_WOOSH_**!

"**AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH**!"

"_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK_!"

In a harrowing display, the coaster-car blatantly spat in the face of the laws of physics and lunged downwards a hundred feet or so, making Ghost's leap from Titan's Tower seem like tripping off a stepping stool. Whatever Raven was screaming—colorful though it be—was completely obscured by the howling of both the wind, and the guy beside her—whom was, arguably, noisier than the coaster.

They hurtled downwards so fast that it would've torn Robin's mask from his face, had he been riding… and, as we all know how difficult it is to separate boy-from-mask in that case, that's saying quite a lot. All in all, they were probably going at least a good eighty-five miles per hour, maybe more.

However, none of this dawned on them. All Raven knew was, despite the things coming from her mouth, she was having the time of her life. And all Ghost knew was… he was about to die. But he'd die with Raven around, so it wouldn't matter…

When they finished going around several sets of loops, and had spun their way past several coiled tracks, they sped headlong across a straight stretch of track, and finally ground to a halt at the ending station.

Raven, hair extremely disheveled and unkempt, gave out a loud howl that sounded suspiciously like the term 'woot' and turned to Ghost.

"That… was GREAT! Let's do it again!" She beamed, clapping Ghost on the shoulder. Unfortunately, he didn't respond. When she noticed, she looked over, only to find he was out like a light. Completely fainted.

So, after a few failed attempts to wake him, she finally sighed and lifted him out of the car with her telekinesis, keeping him hovering in midair. Then, she brought him over to a bench across from the coaster and sat him down. She began rummaging around for a quarter…

Finding one, she strolled towards a nearby drink machine and put it in, pressing a button at random. An orange soda popped out.

She began shaking the small bottle violently, waiting for it to hiss as if about to explode with carbonation-fizz induced pressure… then, she took several steps back and pointed towards the unconscious Ghost…

Locked on target. Fire at will…

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

**_SSSHHHHPPLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!_**

With a noise akin to a boomerang bouncing off the hull of a battleship, the cap of the bottle ricocheted off Ghost's noggin and landed in a nearby trash can; a fraction-of-a-second later, he was doused wetly by a deluge of minty-cool orange flavor.

… There was a slight pause… and then he rolled off the bench, landing on the concrete ground with a thud… slowly, his eyes fluttered open.

"…………… Am I dead…..?"

_**Twenty Minutes Later…**_

"… Well… at least it woke you up, didn't it?" Raven said brightly, slurping a large lollipop as Ghost grinned bemusedly and wiped himself off as they walked along.

"... Yes..." Ghost admitted. "... And... Now you can say you've spent time with an orange flavored demonic ninja." He finished dryly.

A moment's pause, and then:…

She sniffed him twice… and licked him on the face, causing him to freeze and go a deep shade of crimson red.

"Mmm… It's orange, alright." A pause. "……. Tasty……"

Something about the way she phrased the word, 'tasty', and the motions she was making with her tongue, deepened the shade of red Ghost had become.

"… You know… we COULD rinse you off a bit…" She teased.

He blinked. "What?"

"We could ride the bumper boats!"

"…… Somehow… I don't like the sound of that…"

"You wouldn't." She said in mock-disgust and chuckled. "Come on… it'll be fun!"

"… Not as, eh… fun, as the roller coaster I hope." He countered with a grin.

"You and your gloomy sense of humor." Raven sighed. "…… And yes, I KNOW I'm being a hypocrite." She added before he could say anything.

"Alright, alright… lead the way." He relented finally.

* * *

They made their way over to the area where the bumper boats were. The title was self-explanatory: it was very similar to bumper cars, except the participants were in—you guessed it—boats. Unfortunately… 

… It was closed.

"…… Aww…" Raven whined. "I don't believe this…"

Ghost sighed. "Well… I suppose we could just look for something else, eh?"

Raven nodded. "Sure… let's go…"

They began slowly walking off when abruptly, Raven stopped. She looked back at the small gate keeping the small dome-shaped building that contained the bumper-boats locked.

"Ghost… wait a second……"

He turned at the sound of her voice. "Hm?"

She grinned. "…… Just because it's closed… doesn't mean we can't go in……"

He stared numbly for a long minute, remaining silent. And then, with a cock of his head… "… Are you…… suggesting we break in…?"

"Oh no… I'm just suggesting we… ride the closed bumperboats."

"……. I see. Quite different, that…"

He sighed and turned to look around. No one was around… in fact… this particular area of the park seemed… absolutely barren. When he turned, unfortunately, he got an eyeful of the biggest bluish puppy-dog eyes he'd ever seen.

"…… Ok, ok. But… If I die again, you're just going to have to resurrect me somehow." He joked.

Abruptly, she shuddered. "……… Please don't say that…"

"… Sorry." He said quickly. "I didn't mean anything by it; I was just—"

"I know." She said, lightening up again. "Now come on, before anyone comes!"

Raven jogged up to the entrance and tugged forcefully on the small iron padlock that kept the gate closed…. To very little effect. She began to glow with black energy, letting off a dreadful hiss as her eyes blazed irritatedly…

"Here… allow me…" He said quickly, before she lost her temper.

He grabbed the hilt of his katana, and for a split second, there seemed to be a sort've golden blurry flash. After that, nothing else… it seemed as though he hadn't done anything…

"… Did you miss…?" Raven asked bluntly.

… After a long pause, the padlock—along with the entire gate—fell to the ground in two equal, symmetrical halves.

"Oh…… you… didn't…" Raven said bemusedly.

….

As they walked into the dimmed building, they were smothered by pitchblackness… apparently, no lights were on…

"… Eh… we better find a light switch……" Ghost said slowly, his voice echoing all around and confirming the size of the place.

After a bit of feeling around, Ghost managed to find the wall and started slowly inching across it… stretching his hand inch after inch as he went, waving it slowly up and down in search of a switch…

Raven did likewise, searching for anything that might brighten the place up, stepping cautiously along at a slow, careful tempo.

Soon, Ghost found the switch! Unfortunately, it didn't really feel… like a switch. It felt more like a small pillow.

'Must be some newfangled thing…' He muttered mentally…

He squeezed the vaguely rounded object, trying to see if that would do anything…

… Suddenly, he heard Raven gasp in the darkness.

"Huh? Raven… are you ok? I found the light switch, but… can't… figure out how to—"

"Ghost…. That's………. not a light switch….."

"…………………."

"…………………."

With surprising speed, Ghost yanked his hand back as if his hand had been bitten, and from that moment on, neither of them said anything else…

At this point, Raven found the switch…the REAL switch, which she verified by asking Ghost, very bluntly, if anything was grabbing him inappropriately, and after he responded the negative she gave it a quick tug.

… There was an electric hum…. And suddenly, light flooded over them…

Ghost's eyes widened. "… Whoa……."

Raven smiled. "I told you…"

There before them was a massive swimming pool, basically… fitted on one end with a small set of docks, with a set of small motorboats with padding and reinforcements.

"Come on!" Raven said, taking off towards the docks.

Ghost followed her, eying the deep waters warily…

Raven got into a deep-purple boat with neon-pink flames across the front, while Ghost opted for a larger, jet-black boat with small blue will-o-wisps painted across the back. After both of them had managed to crank their boats, Ghost called out to Raven…

"So… what is the object of this game, again?"

Raven giggled impishly and smiled. "… Don't get hit."

He blinked. "By what…?"

In answer, Raven started hauling-boat towards him, cutting across the water like a knife through wet butter.

"…… Oh dear."

He twisted the wheel around on instinct, and managed to dodge her… and then, came back a second time and smacked her with a direct impact to the side.

"Grr… lucky hit." Raven hissed.

"…… Unlucky miss." Ghost countered with a raised eyebrow.

She went at him again, swerving to one side and curving back around to hit him in the side, nearly causing him to tip over. He managed to get away from her before she could hit him again, but she hit the acceleration again and tagged him in the rear as he retreated.

He made a swift turn around to his left, and literally wound up behind Raven's boat, at which point he returned the favor; then, he backed up and, before she could react, slammed her in the side again.

Before long, they were actually laughing and having a good time, not really caring about how many hits they'd gotten in compared to each other. It went on for what seemed like an hour…

Abruptly, Ghost and Raven found themselves heading at each other, both at top speed, about to collide head on… and apparently, neither of them cared.

…….

……… There was a huge spray of watery foam, like a geyser, and a sound that one might liken to a cannonball landing in water as the two boats hit front-to-front and instantly overturned one another, sinking partially but still remaining above water, relatively undamaged.

…….

She splashed about a little, staring across the surface of the pool. "…… Ghost? Ghost?"

Still no response….

"… Ghost?" She started swimming forward. "Ghost! Where are you? I don't…"

She was abruptly cut off as she felt something brush against her leg…

She gasped and yanked back, heart pounding. Until she realized… It was Ghost. She took a deep breath, and ducked down beneath the surface of the water…

There was Ghost, flailing around in slow motion, obscured by the blue haze of the murky water. He was jerking panicked, apparently trying to swim without much success. She began kicking herself towards him, and as he became clearer through the depths, her eyes widened when she saw him open-mouthed, gasping silently like a fish out of water as bubbles flowed from his mouth.

She grabbed him and, with as much strength as she could muster, pulled upwards… but to her dismay, he was far too heavy. In fact, he was beginning to drag her down as well…

She had no choice. She swam back up to the surface and thrust her head above the water, gasping in several breaths of life-sustaining air. She knew every second was precious… if it wasn't already too late.

"A-azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She chanted shakily, forcing herself to concentrate.

A moment later, the water seemed to swell upwards, and then break into a cloud of vapor as Ghost broke the surface, lifted by Raven's dark telekinesis. He hung in mid-air, silent, still, and limp as a ragdoll.

She moved him with her magic over to the docks and sat him down gently, climbing out of the water as quickly as she could and scrambling frantically over to him.

"Ghost… Ghost, Ghost! Wake up…" She moaned, shaking him violently

He laid there silently, not moving.

She began quivering involuntarily, a cold chill sweeping her as her stomach tied itself in a knot. "No… Ghost… no…"

Abruptly, took a deep breath and bent over, tightly locking her lips with his and breathing inwards, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. For a moment, nothing happened… but suddenly, he started choking violently—which, at the very least, showed he was alive.

She withdrew and started pounding him on the back to help him cough up the water, but to little effect, because he soon collapsed again. She repeated the samet method as before but this time…

He groaned into her mouth as she did it, and his eyes opened suddenly.

They stared at each other for a split second, the whole situation seemingly surreal and illusionary.

Slowly, cautiously, she pulled herself away from him as he finished hacking up water, and took in severl deep, rattling breaths of fresh air.

"…… Ghost… are you… alright…?" She moaned… she seemed on the verge of having some sort of breakdown: Shaking violently and voice wavering.

He coughed a bit and nodded weakly. "… Yeah… yeah, I… I think so. Thanks… to you……" in addition, he had gone bright red…

There was an awkward pause.

"…… I don't suppose that counts as a first kiss?" Ghost said quietly, attempting to lighten the situation a little bit.

She gave an odd combination of a giggle and a sob, and wiped her eyes. "…… I … I thought……… you were…"

"I'm fine." He insisted cutting her off. "I'm just lucky you were around."

"No you're not…… it was my idea to come in here in the first place." She whispered. "…… I… I don't know what's gotten into me…"

"Whatever it is, I like it. And besides, it's no big deal… no harm done, right?"

"…. No… harm? You could h-have… died…" She said, starting to shake again.

"But I didn't." He reminded her. "And if I did, it wouldn't have been the first time."

She opened her mouth as if to speak again, but she was cut off.

"I think I heard something from in here…" A voice called from outside the building.

They froze.

Footsteps… drawing closer…

Raven did some quick mental calculations. She was a superhero. Superheroes, like any and all celebrities, were prone to media attention. And considering she was currently clad in a sopping-wet tank top and miniskirt and nearly on top of an equally-damp ninja, she decided a quick exit strategy was in order.

"Grab my arm…" Ghost said suddenly.

"What?"

"Just do it!"

She hesitantly took his arm…

And with a puff of silvery-gray fog, they were gone.

* * *

Raven was silent as they rode their way up on the Ferris wheel. She still hadn't quite forgiven herself for, in her mind, almost being responsible for drowning Ghost. 

Although he had gotten her some cotton candy to help her forget about it, and had made constant attempts to cheer her up, it'd had little effect on her dour demeanor… which, although a bit more Raveney than all of her previous behavior, was just not as enjoyable.

"… It's really ok, you know…"

She looked over at him, lost for a response.

"… I mean… look, certain death via aquatic asphyxiation is nothing compared to you being so troubled. That's far worse…"

This drew another incredulous glance, and then, for the first time in a while, she smiled again.

There was a sudden jerk, and the Ferris wheel stopped in mid-circle… with them situated directly at the top.

Ghost began to wonder if a higher-force was at work here…

"… That wasn't the first kiss." Raven blurted out suddenly, prompting a stare from Ghost.

… In a space of about ten seconds, she grabbed his head, whipped it towards her, gave him a wet smack directly on the lips (which lasted about six seconds) and then recoiled back fast enough to make a loud smacking pop noise.

"… That was. The other two don't count…"

Ghost might have easily been mistaken for a statue at that moment.

* * *

… It was unlikely that anyone in the tiny hotel in which Gizmo, Mammoth, and Jinx were lodged was able to sleep tonight. Far too much noise was coming from their shared room; Thankfully, Shimmer had chosen to lodge in a separate room… 

Laughter—hysterical, wild, loud laughter—echoed throughout the building. The manager would have asked them to be quiet, except… one of them was proficient with lethal weaponry, one was skilled in dark magic, and the last was seven feet tall and capable of bench-pressing a Volkswagen.

"… O-open the window, Giz…" Mammoth guffawed. "I… I think… I'm suffocating here!" He managed to get out before bursting into more deep scratchy laughter.

"If we open the window, the whole city outside'll hear us!" Gizmo cackled, also having to talk through thick laughs.

"Who cares?" Jinx howled, rolling on the floor and banging her boots on it. "This is the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

There, in the center of the room, was a small silver cauldron, belonging to Jinx. In it, reflected in a strange misty liquid, were Raven and Ghost sitting on the Ferris wheel, locking lips.

"… Man, I'm glad you brought this thing along." Gizmo said. "It's somethin' to keep us busy while Shimmer sleeps off that hangover…"

"Yeah. Just don't wake her up, or she'll have our heads—among… other things." Mammoth grunted, snorting with laughter.

"I always promised myself I'd only use spying spells if it was an emergency." Added Jinx. "But this… is a special occasion. God, I wish I had a camera……"

"Me too. To get the look he had on his face when Raven smooched him!" Mammoth said, slapping his knee and sinking back into the couch.

"…" Gizmo cracked up into hysterics again, pounding his fist on the ground. "Geeze Jinx, you and Zero weren't THIS funny!"

Jinx's laughter abruptly trailed off…

… Jinx would… DESPISE it… if anyone did what they were doing to her and Sub-Zero…

As this realization set in, she felt guilt overcome her, and she decided enough was enough.

Tapping the cauldron with her foot, she murmured something under her breath, and the frothing mist inside dissipated and vanished.

"Hey… what'd ya do THAT for?" Mammoth demanded. "They were just getting to the good part."

"I know… look… I think we should give them some privacy though."

"Whatever you say…" Gizmo said, rolling his eyes. "… Goody two-shoes…"

"One more word out of you, Pipsqueak…" Jinx snarled. "And I'll make sure you don't get another drop of good luck for the rest of your natural life… which WON'T Be very long..."

* * *

"… This place is… nice." Raven said, whistling impressedly. "…… And I think you'll feel right at home." She joked. 

"… I do admit… this is probably as close to home as I'll get for a while." He said.

They'd just walked into a large hotel-and-casino in Jump City, simply titled Dragon's Palace. The entire place was huge, about fifty stories high and riddled throughout with an Asian theme; that is, the place was decorated by stone dragons and Buddha statues, cherry blossoms and sliding screen doors, and most of the waitresses and clerks were dressed in Kimonos.

Ghost sighed. "… I almost feel hungry again…"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Almost? I've been hungry again for a while. It is 2:00 in the morning, you know…"

"Yeah, I know." He said, sniffing. "Something around here… smells… delicious."

"…… It couldn't possibly be THAT, could it?" Raven asked playfully, pointing behind him.

He turned to look… and got a glimpse of a huge buffet over by the slot machines.

"…… Why did you show me that…?" He asked with a groan.

"Just to torture you a little." She giggled devilishly. "… In a loving, affectionate way of course."

"…Well… at least you're still as morbid as ever." He said with a wry smile. "That's my Raven."

He suddenly froze. He'd just referred to her as 'my' Raven. He looked over slowly with a gulp, expecting to get an insulted look or a slap… but she was blushing and smiling just as widely as before.

… Mentally, Ghost tallied up more points on the little scoreboard in his mind.

"Let's go get some more food…" said Raven. "Just a light snack to tide us over until we get back to the tower… and then, I can do some more shopping." She sighed.

"I never realized you were so into shopping." Ghost said impressedly.

"Well… usually… I'm not… but… like I said, I just feel… different, tonight. And it feels great! And nothing's blown up yet!"

He stared at her. "What?"

She blushed. "I mean… I… I've been so emotional this whole time, but… nothing's happened… it's… relieving."

"I would imagine so." He said simply as they walked into the buffet line.

After the light snack (which, in fact, consisted of several sticks of teriyaki chicken and many fried dumplings apiece), they paid the bill and split up to look around a bit.

The first things that caught Ghost's eye were the slot machines people were playing at. Apparently, you put a bit of money in it, and if you managed to line up three pictures the same, you get even more money back in the return. The pictures, however, seemed to stop at random and it was more or less a game of chance. Still, the idea of a box that flashes different colors and spits out money was… interesting to him, to say the least.

He moved on to the card games. People stood around at various tables, betting money on card games of all types. Well, not actual money. Rather, it seemed as though they were betting with tiny black, blue, and red chips… most peculiar… he concluded there must be something valuable about them.

Losing interesting in the casino portion of the place, he instead moved into the gift shop…

His gaze was drawn to a large case full of wooden training-katanas, called bokken.

… There was something inherently beautiful about the light reflecting from their highly polished surfaces. They weren't elaborate, nor ornate, but they scarcely needed to be. The wood itself seemed to be high-quality and meticulously cared for…

Ghost stared at them intensely, deep in thought. There was something so… familiar… about these bokken. Or perhaps not these, but… bokken in general… but… he couldn't quite place what…

… He continued to stare, eyes suddenly hollow and glazed.

* * *

Takeshi stepped back a few paces, brushing the dust from his white hippari shirt and from his matching white hakama pants. Confident he could do it this time, he squinted his eye—his one good one—and charged at the dummy hanging from a rope tied to a stone overhanging. 

He took a deep breath to steady himself, and squinted as hard as he could, trying to make sense of the blurred vortex of colors and shapes around him that made up the world. When things at last became a bit sharper, he focused on the dummy—he was sure that he saw it this time—and charged…

… He swung the bokken he held with incredible force…!

… And soundly defeated a small shrub tree.

"Grr… _Kuso_…"

There was a long pause. Then…

"… I'd rather you refrain from that sort've language, Takeshi-Kun."

He couldn't really see the speaker, but he yelped, recognizing the voice immediately.

"S-Sorry, Ojii-San…" The boy apologized to his grandfather, whom he managed to identify as the tall slender blur moving about on the porch of their home.

"…… You've been at this for hours." His grandfather continued. "… Why not come inside and rest?"

"… I just want to hit the thing once… just once…" Takeshi insisted, readying his wooden blade for another charge.

A soft, airy chuckle…

"Then… you may wish to turn around, Takeshi. It's… behind you…"

"………"

The boy abruptly sat the bokken down on a wooden bench and then, feeling about it to make sure he was above it, sat down with a groan.

"… Are you to always be unhappy?" His grandfather sighed, walking down the steps to his grandson.

"…… It's just…" Takeshi struggled for a good way to say what he felt. "… If anything ever happened… if you or Obaa-San were ever in any danger… I'd be useless."

"If we were ever in any danger, the most important thing would be to put as much distance between yourself and it as possible—regardless of us." Ojii-San countered sternly, but softly.

"……"

"……"

He sighed and turned to look around the landscape—a blur of greens, browns, yellows… all washed into one, blob-like shape.

"… Come." His grandfather said. "… Your grandmother has made some tea for us. It should soothe your spirits a bit…"

"… Arigato…"

* * *

Ghost jerked violently as he felt a tap on the shoulder; he gasped aloud and his eyes suddenly returned to their normal state. How long had he been standing there…? 

Abruptly, his vision went black as someone/something clapped his/her/its hands around his head.

"Guess who?"

"…… Raven…?" he said shakily, in a tone that could be likened to a yelp.

"… Hmph. You're no fun." She said, uncovering his eyes.

"Well, what can I say? I—"

He was cut off when he turned to look at her.

She was… changed. AGAIN. She seemed to have gone completely crazy in the clothing-section of the gift shop…

She was dressed in a full purple kimono with a blue floral pattern embroidered into the material, and a pair of sandals very much like Ghost's. Her hair, also changed radically, was put up into a small bun on top with a pair of chopsticks through it for decoration, while the rest of it was left to hang loose. She held an open parasol, jet-black with silvery storm clouds and blue tufts of rain, over her left shoulder and in her right hand was clutched a small fan with pictures of black ravens adorning it. Finally, her earrings had been exchanged for new dangling ones that formed a pair of identical kanji symbols.

While Ghost's jaw hit the floor with an audible thump, she giggled and fanned herself.

"So… what do you think?"

… A long awkward pause. He began to speak, but an airy whimper came out. He swallowed, and he took a deep breath.

"I think…… someone should call 911… eh… now……"

He thumped to the ground, unconscious... Again...

* * *

Beast Boy, amazed that he was still up this late, yawned and shuddered. He didn't feel… well, tonight. Something was definitely wrong. He'd been shaky and nervous for hours now, and couldn't even get to sleep… 

Terra, on the other hand, was out like a light, snoring softly in her cot in the corner of the room. He almost wished he could wake her and talk to her, if only to ease his nerves… but… she seemed so angelic when she was sleeping… he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He wondered vaguely, as he watched the clock, if anyone else was up? He knew that Raven and Ghost were still out there, somewhere… but that really wasn't the cause for his dismay, he felt sure.

It was something… more. Something… instinctive.

"… Something's… weird…" He muttered aloud, moving to the window.

He pulled the small string that opened up the blinds, and gasped.

Titan's Tower had a grand view of the city from that floor, as well as the horizon. And the horizon, at this moment, was covered thickly by gray clouds… a storm was coming in.

"… Of course." He realized. "A storm…"

That's what he was so nervous about. Animals, in theory, are believed to be able to sense natural calamities like storms… perhaps Beast Boy was enough like an animal to be able to sense their coming as well…

He stared out the window vaguely…

"… I hope Raven is Ok… and Ghost…" He murmured to himself.

He wouldn't be so worked up unless… unless a big one was coming. There hadn't been any warning in the news but who knows?

And if they didn't hurry up… things wouldn't be good.

_**Wow, this took me long enough to write. Sorry it's been so long, but this is a long chapter that I had to split in half. And other than that, my schedule has been sort've a Hell-and-back affair of late, and scarcely have time for anything, even writing. Hopefully I'll soon have all the free time that I used to have. Until then, updates may be scarce. **_

_**As is obvious, Raven is very good at rendering Ghost unconscious, especially when she's actually cheerful. But what's been happening with everyone else, particularly Trigon, and Geoforce and Ryand'r? Well, we'll see next chapter. And as for the funeral of Mammoth's parents, well... I'll just say it may be an unusually lively affair, with a sinister twist. And... just what was Cyborg so intent on working on?  
**_

_**These answers and more, to come.**_

_**--Count Le Madphantom...**_


	21. Chapter Nineteen

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty_**

Titan's Tower was currently experiencing a rude awakening.

First, the rain had come… barely twenty minutes ago, it had began raining cats and dogs, not slacking up in the least. It was raining so hard outside, announcers across several weather stations were cautioning the entire city to stay inside, not to go out for any reason. In no more than twenty minutes, there had already been several floods downtown…

… But as bad as all this was, it was nothing compared to what was happening now.

After the rain, the thunder and lightning came, along with hail. Baseball sized hail, a first for Jump City, was pounding down in the streets with enough force to pulverize cars and smash skulls…

Beast Boy had been awakened long before anyone else, but with the tower literally shaking beneath your feet, it didn't take much to wake you up. Right now, Robin was stumbling across the floor of his room to look out the window, shaken and still half-asleep.

He fumbled around in the dark for a few seconds, and finally managed to take hold of the curtains of his window. Grabbing them, he flung them aside and stared out the window at the ocean.

Waves, a hundred feet high, were crashing into the island below and almost hitting the walls of the tower itself, while off in the distance geysers of foam, water, and bubbles fired off into space, and fell back down to the sea in a shower of white and blue. The storm churned the waters and spat ice from the clouds, and even through the bullet-proof glass of his window, he could clearly hear the roaring of the winds, powerful enough to blow the water and ice in all directions.

Said glass was, fortunately, extremely strong, because otherwise it wouldn't have been able to stand up to the hail that was crashing and shattering against it. Deciding he'd seen enough, Robin closed the curtains again and turned, intent on waking the others if they weren't already awake…

… He turned and found himself face-to-face with a pair of luminous eyes.

He gasped and stumbled back, and so did the owner of those shining, green eyes. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he slumped with relief.

"… Star! It's you."

Starfire nodded. "What is happening? What is going on out there? The noises are keeping Blackfire and I awake…"

Wordlessly, Robin motioned towards the window.

She strode over and opened the curtains, seeing the same thing he had. She gasped and began shaking.

"Raven! Ghost! They are still out there; we must—"

"We can't." Robin cut her off. "… There's no way we can get out in this."

"But I—" She persisted, but this time she was interrupted by the door to Robin's room opening.

"Yo, Robin! You awake?" Another voice boomed in.

Robin looked over and saw a glowing red eye. That was all he needed to see…

"Yeah, we're up Cyborg. I don't think anybody can sleep through this…"

"I'm here too!" Beast Boy called from beside Cyborg. "Robin, what are we gonna do about Raven? And Ghost? They're stuck out there somewhere!"

"I don't know…" Robin groaned, sitting down. "… I don't think there's anything we CAN do." He paused. "…. Look… go wake everybody up if they're asleep, and get everybody together downstairs. We have to figure out what's going on."

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Raven groaned as she shook Ghost, trying to wake him up for the third time that night. "C'mon… please wake up… Don't make me dunk you in cold water…" She threatened, but mostly to herself.

The threat in question was actually very plausible considering all she had to do was open up the door and let the rain in. But that would be a bit much.

Finally, he began to stir, and slowly his mismatched eyes opened up.

"… Raven?"

"… Yes, it's me… Oh, glad you're awake!" She sighed, hugging him around the neck. "We have to get out of here now! Get back to the tower!"

He scratched his head and yawned. "Ok, ok. What's going on?"

She motioned towards the glass doors of the building, through which the sheets of rain could easily be seen.

"… Oh."

She sighed. " This storm started after you passed out. I don't know, it just… appeared. Like out of nowhere…"

Several massive hailstones smashed against the pavement outside and Ghost winced. "… How are we going to get to the Tower? We can't go out in this!"

"I think… I should be able to shield us against the hail." She said. "… But I can't do it forever. We need to get to the tower fast. Are you up to flying right now?"

He yawned. "I don't see why not. I've just had a nap, so to speak…"

Raven glanced down at the Kimono she was still wearing and blushed. "… I'm sorry. I should have warned you, or something…"

"……" He was silent, and his eyes clouded with thought.

"… Ghost..? What's wrong?"

"… I think…… I think I remembered something."

"What?" She asked. "Don't tell me you forgot to pay the buffet bill…"

"No… no, I mean… I think… I remembered… me. My life…" he said slowly.

She gave him a quizzical look, and then went wide-eyed and gasped. "… Your past life?" She asked immediately.

"Yes. … I mean, it could have just been a dream, but… it was so real…"

He paused and looked out the door towards the raging wind and rain outside. "… There's not enough time to explain, though… I'll tell you about it when we get to the Tower."

With that, he knelt down for a second and grabbed her in his arms like a large doll (much to her surprise) and began walking towards the door. "I'll count to three… on three, you bring up the shield, and I'll fly us out…"

"Right…" She said with a nod.

… There was an awkward pause.

"And… if I may say so… you look…" He paused. "… Absolutely ravishing." he said, referring to the kimono.

Raven went deep-red and nodded silently as a few ceiling-lights blew out behind them.

He walked with her cradled carefully in his arms towards the door.

"… Ok… here it goes." He gulped. "… One……… Two……… and… **THREE**!"

As he yelled out the signal, she closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could, even as she felt a headache coming on. With a flash of shadows, a round, bubble-like sphere of protective black magic flickered to life around them, to shield them from the storm.

Simultaneously Ghost kicked open the door and dashed out, spreading his huge wings and taking to the air so fast that it made Raven's ears pop. Their ears instantly rang with the crunching sounds of baseball hail shattering into bits against the protective surface of Raven's dark energy bubble.

Noticing that she'd gone from calm to tensed up and shivering in a few seconds time, he cleared his throat and sweatdropped. "… Uh… if it helps… just think calm, happy thoughts…"

… It sounded suspiciously like she started muttering, "I'm on the ground, I'm on the ground, I'm on the ground…" over and over and over again…

He sighed and patted her shoulder. "Just…… don't… look down…."

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Smoke was in his element. Grabbing his siege gun from its wall-mounted plaque, he yanked open a drawer and pulled out a handful of .50 caliber armor-piercing rounds that looked more like small metal sausages than bullets.

Loading them into the gun, he cocked it and spun it in circles on his index finger a few times; no mean feat considering the rifle itself was at least four feet from stock to bayonet-tip.

Sure, it was probably just a rainstorm. Sure, it probably had nothing to do with Raven's red, punk-ass father… but… just in case… Smoke was a young man who liked to be prepared.

Suiting up with siege gun, backpack, seven-barreled shotgun, chainsaw, and auto-revolvers, he jogged out of the room to find the others, whom were no doubt awake at this point.

… As he made his way out of the dark garage, he fumbled around for one of his revolvers, knowing they were equipped with small, tactical flashlights. After fiddling with the holster a moment, he got the small firearm out and, being careful to avoid the trigger, switched on the light.

A dazzling beam of radiance, bright white and clear, cut through the shadowy darkness of the tower like a knife through butter, giving him a clear view of his path as he made his way upstairs.

The steps creaked lightly under his weight while his cowboy boots tapped slowly against their metal surfaces… this, combined with the fierce pattering of rain and the echoing crash of waves and hail joined with the howling winds to create a dissonant symphony; a testament to nature's fury…

Smoke shivered. The tower was cold this time of night, even through his leather jacket… they usually didn't run the heating this late since everyone was asleep anyway. … The temperature wasn't the only thing disturbing him.

… Blackfire's gift.

Now he wouldn't be able to give it to her, at least… not until the storm had blown over. It was still down in his room, covered by a camo blanket… he and Cyborg had been staying up working on it, and he was anxious to give it to her…

"… Friend Smoke…?"

A familiar voice from the darkness interrupted his reverie.

"… Starfire? Is… that you?" He called out gruffly, putting a hand to his shotgun just in case.

Another voice responded this time… "… SMOKE!"

He recognized this one in seconds. "… Huh? Blackfire!"

Sure enough, a couple shapes came floating down the steps to his position, one of them hugging him tightly around the neck. It was Star and Blackfire.

"Smoke! I'm glad you're all right… I… I was afraid that water might be leaking downstairs or something…" Blackfire said softly.

"Yes…" Star agreed. "We have been hearing sounds of water for some time, though it is probably merely the violent precipitation we are currently experiencing outside."

Smoke blinked. "… Right. It's not leaking down there; don't worry. What about upstairs? Is everyone Ok?"

"Well… sorta…" Blackfire started, still clinging to him. "… WE'RE all ok, but… Raven and Ghost, are both… still out there in the storm somewhere."

Smoke suddenly went bolt-stiff upright. "… **Damn**! I forgot about them! We have to go hel—"

Starfire cut him off. "No… I thought so as well, but… we cannot. It is far too dangerous… even for us…"

Smoke almost fumed. "Well what are we gonna do? Just sit here and _wait_?" He demanded.

Blackfire kissed his cheek softly, as if to calm him down. "… We're going to go upstairs with the others and figure out what's going on. And… hope that they can find a way back…"

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"… Tell me, Doctor. Has Leviathan crossed into the mortal realm yet?" Trigon drawled venomously from his giant throne in the demon dimension.

"Yet….? He's been there…"

"…. Well why didn't you say so?" Trigon snarled angrily down to the scientist typing away at a computer terminal and less-than-concerned with his demonic antics.

"… I'm thinking…" The fiendish genius mused softly, rubbing his mustache. "… Trigon, old Chap, have you ever thought about… conquering… another planet? Besides Earth?"

There was a silence, filled with hollow hissing from the bubbling lava.

"…. What do you mean?" The demon monarch glowered bluntly.

"I mean… that there happens to be a golden opportunity knocking on our doorstep: Tamaran."

"What?"

"Tamaran. It's a small planet that's, surprisingly, not all that far away compared to others… for the longest time, I had heard only rumors of its existence. To find out it's actually real…!"

"Where are you going with this, Mortal?"

"I'm GOING to say that we conquer it. Utterly. We take it, stockpile troops and resources, and bend the alien technology to our advantage… then, when the time is right… we come back here… and strike down the Titans at their roots: That wretched Tower."

"…… I like this… plan, of yours…" Trigon mused. "… Where are you suggesting we get the means to go there? I can't leave the demon dimension."

"No… but your demons can. And I can. Furthermore, that brat alien has a ship that can take us straight to it. And who knows? Utilizing my portal technology with alien capabilities…… I may even be able to bring you into the mortal world…"

Trigon's quad-eyes glowed eerily… but then, he frowned. "… What about the trap you've set? With that… mortal friend of yours?"

"Mad Mod? Oh, he's got it all in motion. But he may not even be needed if Leviathan takes care of the brats for us." Myntull paused to shake his whiskery head. "I still can't believe how dense that white haired mongrel is. Took the bait, no questions asked…"

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"Aw man, first the cops, now THIS!" Geoforce groaned loudly, his windshield-wipers only just keeping up with the massive amount of rain that had begun downpouring since they'd entered the state of California.

"I believe they are catching up…" Ryand'r warned from the back seat.

"Nah, you think?"

"Yes, I know. I can see their lights from—"

"RHETORICAL question, Dude! … Fricking rhetorical question…."

Ryand'r rolled his emerald orbs and groaned. "I suggest we employ some evasive maneuvers…"

"That…" Geo nodded. "……. Or we nuke their punk asses like redheaded stepchildren…"

"…."

"… Uh… No offense… it's just a saying…"

Ryand'r opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when a swarm of bullets began ricocheting off the outside of the car with loud clangs and showers of sparks.

"Aw, man! Now they're shooting at us! Dammit…" Geo groaned. He glanced at the rear-view mirror, which oh-so-mockingly read, 'Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear' even as the cop cars gained on them foot by foot, loading for another round of gunfire.

He reached for the gearshift. "Hang on spaceman…"

Before Ryand'r could ask what was going on, Geoforce reached over and snapped the gearshift from 'Drive' to 'reverse'… and hit the gas petal down to the floorboards.

The car, for a split second, froze. Then, it was gone again, this time shrieking back across the wet, slippery road, sliding backwards well over ninety miles per hour with minimal control and a spray of foam on both sides from the rainy weather.

The squad cars swerved to the side with a shrill squeal, going off the road itself, to avoid the seemingly suicidal kamikaze move that Geo'd just pulled off. They parted and moved aside just in time to dodge the car as it hurtled backwards like a missile gone awry.

Then, he was suddenly behind him. Seeing their chance, they hit the gas and rolled back onto the road cross-ways, forming a barrier to prevent him from crossing any further; they had him trapped utterly.

"……… Groovy…" Geoforce murmured in satisfaction under his breath…

He hit the brakes, sending them swirling into a donut-style move that took them on two complete 360 degree rotations in the space of three seconds, eventually putting them straight again with the nose of the car pointing towards the blockade far ahead of them.

Just as Ryand'r crawled up from the back floorboards looking a bit ill, Geo's eyes began to crackle with golden energy…

Down, deep, somewhere far below the surface of the road, a mysterious something in the Earth's very core began to stir. … A rumbling filled the air, like a volcano getting ready to blow its top. Trees began shaking to their roots, and the soil quivered; plants waved wildly…

… This tremor intensified, slowly but surely, into a full-blown quake, as the road itself tore and severed itself, a crack opening in the crust and cement; it widened up, gaping in nature, and its size was ever growing, all consuming… like the yawn of eons, air sucked itself down into the dark, craggy rift and mud splashed out along with steam and a shower of pebbles as the Earth opened its titanic maw.

A muffled explosion echoed underground like the battle cry of Gaia, and the crevice widened and elongated, rushing full speed at the police cars blockading the roadway, getting bigger and bigger all the time; it was ready to swallow them up whole like so many potato chips during a good meal.

The cars tipped, creaked, as the rift opened beneath them, mud and steam pouring out, hissing out, shooting out, and then they were suddenly gone. Nothing was left, except one trace: the metallic clanks and echoing explosions of utterly destroyed automobiles being sent to the center of the planet Earth.

Geo, eyes still glowing fiercely and a vein of concentration in his right temple, gave a brief swishing motion with his fingertips, not even taking his hand off the steering wheel…

As though responding, the rift closed, slowly merging back together into solid road as the cacophony of noise died down into the soft hissing of the torrential rains, pouring ever-rapidly… in a few moments… it was as though nothing had ever happened, save for the satisfied smirk underneath Geo's shades, and the grim relief that had spread across Ryand'r's visage.

"……" The blonde guy slumped back in his seat. "… Whoa… Dude… that took a lot out of me…" He groaned, removing his shades and wiping his tanned forehead. "_Whew_…"

Ryand'r reached over the seat and patted his back. "You've done well. You eliminated our pursuers with minimal trouble."

"Yeah. Now… before any more of those guys come across us, we… should get moving…" He sighed and reclined his car seat as he pulled over onto the side of the road. "Just give me a couple minutes… I need a breather real quick……."

Ryand'r nodded and sat back against the back of the car, leaving Geo to some rest. He sighed.

He blinked… his eerie green eyes, slightly luminous in the shadowy car and the dim storm, reflected the silent lightning that would occasionally streak across the sky, like small emerald mirrors; they scanned the road behind and in front of them, making sure that they were alone. … It seemed as though they were.

Geo yawned in the front seat and put his sunshades back on, obscuring his blue eyes. Ryand'r couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not…

… Eventually, the alien shrugged and slumped back, deciding to get a little bit of rest himself.

… _**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

… Ryand'r's green eyes flickered and fluttered open as he yawned…

He was suddenly aware that Geoforce was very much awake, and the vehicle was now in motion once again.

"… How far are we…?" The alien groaned, rubbing the side of his head.

Geo did a few mental calculations. "Hm… well… if we keep going like this… I'm thinking we should be there in… oh, say… ten or twelve hours. Still far off, but… a Hell of a lot closer than we were."

A beat of silence…

"… I think… I think I'm… home free." Geoforce muttered to himself. "I mean, there's no way they know where I am now."

"Then you shouldn't have any more trouble from them." Ryand'r reasoned, nodding.

"Right. Hehehe… Good. I'm just so glad to be away from my lamebrain parents. They really know how to—"

He froze suddenly, eyes focusing on something in the distance.

Ryand'r blinked slowly. "Uh…… are you… all right…?"

… Still staring ahead and slightly to the right, not even paying attention to the road in front, he did not answer; he gazed on at some unknown object as if he was thoroughly hypnotized.

… His foot slammed against the acceleration, and the car leapt into high-speed, screeching against the soaked roadway below.

"_Ooof_!" Ryand'r got slammed slightly into the back of his seat as the old vehicle took off, much faster than ever before. "What in the name of X'hal? What is the matter with you?" He demanded.

… The blonde in the driver's seat was still unblinking, transfixed.

Then… as suddenly as they'd started, perhaps more so, the car skidded to a halt, wailing hoarsely as its old brakes, only toughened if anything by age, brought the car to a surprisingly safe stop right on the side of the road.

… There was a moment of dead silence.

……

… Abruptly, Geoforce slammed the car door open, grabbed an umbrella from the nearby glove compartment, and began hauling ass out into the rain, off the road… without so much as one word.

….

…..

Geoforce panted, unaware of the treebranches swatting down at his face as he ran towards his target.

There, in front of him but well off the road, there was a bus… a bus that was crunched into a tree rather violently. … Apparently, it had crashed at some point during the rainstorm. A bunch of people were gathered around under umbrella's with phones and such, probably calling rides to come pick them up…

… Geoforce paid them no heed. He was distracted.

"Wait! … X'hal, what is wrong with these Earthlings…?" Ryand'r's voice echoed from behind…

… Geo, sadly, was too busy drooling with glazed over eyes to listen…

… The extraterrestrial caught up finally, smacking Geo's back. "What's **WRONG** with you?"

The surfer flinched slightly, but his eyes never faltered. He swallowed… and cleared his throat dryly, still seemingly spellbound.

"……" A long pause… "… Dude…" A beat. "… I think I'm in love………"

…..

…………..

……………………………..

…………………………………. Ryand'r demonstrated an excellent example of the, '_Anime Face-plant Fall_'.

Upon getting up, Ryand'r followed his gaze…

There, standing rather sullenly against the side of the dilapidated bus, was a girl.

Her hair was long, spiky, and unkempt, sticking up from her head in an unruly black mass. But her bangs, hanging curved in front and sides were dyed deep crimson red… much like her clothes. The strapless dress she wore was jet-black, with a sheen and a Poofy red miniskirt that left her pale legs revealed down to the high-heeled black boots she wore, both of which had red markings and decorations. They matched her gloves, which were black with red trim and went to her elbows.

Her eyes were large and prominent, lined with heavy amounts of mascara and makeup; they were dark, almost black but with a slight pinkish red tint to them… her skin was pale and silvery; a light shade of gray with hints of white here and there.

But without question, her most prominent feature was a large, scar-like tattoo on her chest just below her neck. It was shaped like a jagged, stylized letter _'A'._

She yawned, leaning back lazily and observing her nails.

… And Geoforce swooned.

Ryand'r fought against the rising temper within him. "You came… all… the way…. Over here… for… a girl?"

"No, man! I came all the way over here for no apparent reason, not for a girl… but for THE girl, Spaceman!" He moaned in response, shades suddenly taking the shape of hearts.

The alien slapped his forehead…

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_**Yeah… just to clarify, I'm not dead. But I am horridly busy lately. Don't worry; these fics are always in my head, growing and sprouting new ideas like so much fungus… (Ahem)…. Anyway….**_

_**Read and Review, please!**_


	22. Chapter Twenty, Part One

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty, Part One**_

………

**An excerpt from the journal of Professor Karl S. Wagner, AKA Dr. Myntull… **

October 13

_Ever since the escape of Prototype #8675309 (e.g. "Smoke"), my beloved Laboratories have laid in ruin, beneath what little was left of the Military Base in Jump City, California. Although I mourn for my studies, I cannot say that I possess great amounts of sympathy for the rest of those brutish dolts. They displayed an uncanny lack of good common sense; the likes of which I haven't seen since the Third Reich back home._

_Project: UBERSOLDAT, my life's work, was little more than a bitter memory. But even after my defeat at the hands of the prototype, my mission remains. The ultimate killing machine has yet to be created. … Although it (he?) certainly possesses the capabilities to wipe out entire fighting forces, he is plagued and, ultimately, rendered obsolete by the unexpected presence of vague moral ideals (i.e. a "conscience".)_

_As I had told my ignorant colleagues from so long ago, genetically or biologically engineering a Super-Soldier is a lost cause. The presence of an actual mind and, though I loathe to say it, heart… simply do not make for an effective soldier, whose main purpose was supposed to be systematic slaughter of targeted enemies in the first place._

_Bearing this in mind, I have decided to renew my life's work and take up Project: UBERSOLDAT once more, this time turning to a more reliable, less fickle medium—robotics._

_The design I have devised incorporates state-of-the-art technology with old-fashioned methods; a strange, but effective, mixture. The new Ubersoldat will possess capabilities equal to and, indeed, far beyond the mere prototype that has been encountered thus far._

_Schematics are still under work, but the vague details brewing within my mind include: _

_An integrated furnace/boiler system to furnish the steam that powers the subject._

_Shoulder mounted nozzles, used to release excess steam, possibly as a lethal weapon of great shock value._

_Fully equipped chaingun, flamethrower, rockets, and lasers._

_A steam engine to provide the actual power and give my creation life._

_An exterior modeled to exude intimidation; fear is a most valuable ally. Actual alloys used may include reinforced steel and depleted uranium, among other trace metals…_

_Optical Diagnostic software that includes infrared, night-vision, x-ray, and up to 35X magnification of chosen targets. (Not unlike powerful rifle scopes.)_

_A built-in computer to serve as the actual "mind". The possibilities vary, but all ensure one thing: the complete and utter lack of anything at all that even vaguely resembles a so-called "Soul". Obedience must be guaranteed._

… _Das Ubersoldat—The Supersoldier. The dream of a lifetime, finally brought to its fulfillment. _

_Let nothing stand in my way._

_October 20_

_The demon is quite useful as a minion. He is mobile… agile… hostile… and possesses an infinite number of powerful, yet obedient spawn, far above the caliber of my ORCS. _

_And the sweetest part of it all, is that the schweinhund doesn't even know he's working for me. _

_The telekinetic powers he bestowed upon me are far beyond what I'd expected; the capabilities for lethality are exciting, and the potential for mass destruction makes my eyes misty._

_… His pets and minions have proved to be valuable research material. Their demonic anatomy and physiology, resilient and delightfully destructive, provide infinite inspiration to my work. If all goes according to plan, which it must, then I will be able to put this inspiration to good use very, very soon._

_Trigon has deployed his Leviathan, the sea demon, to the mortal realm. Though it is powerful, no question, I fear that its defeat at the hands of the Teen Titans is a distinct possibility, if not a probability. They are far more resourceful than one might think, fine specimens. When the time comes, it will be my greatest pleasure to dissect their corpses piece by piece. That is, if there is anything left._

_If, indeed, the Leviathan is defeated, Mad Mod will take care of them. And if he fails, which is also known to happen… then Trigon still has more tricks up his sleeve. Whether or not they will be able to weather Death himself… is unclear. But I doubt it. The Reaper is indeed not one to make bargains, generally speaking, but Trigon has ways of persuading those of like mind—and Death Incarnate seems an accurate description of both of them._

_One thing is certain: The Teen Titans will not survive the year; in all likelihood, they will perish within the month… _

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Sub-Zero grunted gruffly, staring out the window to the maelstrom outside. He liked ice. He loved ice, in fact. But he didn't love chunks of it that came down with enough force to splinter someone's bones. He only hoped the weather wasn't this bad where Jinx and the others were.

Jinx's gift from the jewelry store was wrapped in a small package in his room, ready to give to her when she got back, but right now there were other concerns at hand. One: something told him this storm wasn't natural—he'd been around storms enough to know, having been to sea so much in his earlier life. And Two: … Raven and Ghost were still out there somewhere, which was what everyone else was talking about right now.

He, for his part, had grown weary of it and stopped listening by this point.

Not to say he wasn't worried about them—he was. They were, after all, his friends. But… no one could seem to agree what to do.

Smoke, Starfire, Blackfire, Terra, and Beast Boy seemed insistent that they go out and find them, whatever the risk may be. Robin and Cyborg insisted it was too dangerous to leave the Tower, mainly because of the hail and, of course, the constant risk of flooding.

Personally, Sub-Zero was undecided.

On one hand, he could understand how Beast Boy, Smoke, Terra, Star, and Blackfire were so intent on going to find them. One usually doesn't leave one's friends out in the middle of a potentially-deadly storm with no aid.

But then again, he understood where Robin and Cyborg where coming from, as well. They would be no good to their friends drowned or with a hailstone concussion.

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Smoke protested, his brazen voice loud enough to pierce Zero's reverie. "We have to figure out some way to find them! You know they'd do the same for us." A beat. "…… Well, lemme rephrase that: You know Raven would do the same thing for us."

"I know!" Robin countered. "But… if we go out there now, we'd be killed. You know that as well as I do."

"Isn't there some way? The T-Car, or Smoke's truck or something?" Terra asked softly.

"No way… that hail would go through our rides like crap through a goose." Cyborg said grimly.

"That…" Blackfire said with narrowed eyes. "… Or you care more about that stupid car than our friends."

Sub-Zero started rubbing his temples. This was gonna be a long talk…

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?" Cyborg snarled, standing up. His height dwarfed Blackfire but she didn't seem to care.

"Who cares if it destroys the cars; we'll find another way!" She snapped. "I mean… both of them are out there alone with no way to get back!"

"They've probably taken shelter somewhere." Robin said quickly, attempting to nip the argument in the bud before it got any uglier. "Or Raven could use a shield…"

"But… Raven can't hold a shield that long… can she?" Beast Boy asked slowly.

Robin sighed and shifted in his seat. "…… I don't know."

"We should at least call them on the communicator!" Blackfire persisted as noisily as ever. "I mean, surely they'd pick u—"

"No good." Cyborg said flatly. "We've already tried; interference from the storm seems to have knocked their communicators outta whack…"

Sub-Zero's crimson gaze turned to the windows again, looking down at the churning sea below.

… And as he watched, his friends' voices grew more and more indistinct, drowned out, as it were, by the hissing of rain and the moan of the ocean waters.

As terrible as nature's fury was, it was… inherently beautiful to him, somehow. The massive, azure waves… the whirlpools forming sporadically across the water's surface… the churning, bubbling foam and geysers of watery vapor… it was all surreal and entrancing.

He observed a particularly bright spot of water, churning about and splashing in the wind. It… spread, a good quarter-mile or so and was far in the distance, on the horizon. He couldn't help but notice how it seemed to sidewind; it moved in snakelike undulations and coiled into itself as it flowed, foaming…

He strained his reddish eyes. It was… a wave, or something it seemed… a particularly large one coiling and writhing across the waters surface in the same serpentine manner. It almost seemed to sparkle with a sort've jade sheen…

… He was hypnotized by the movements of this phenomenon… and slowly, he began to realize the wave… wasn't a wave…

… WHAT it was, was unclear, but… no, not a wave…

… A pod of dolphins? … No… no, there were no dolphins around this area…

… Clumps of floating seaweed? … It couldn't be that; that was impossible. It was far too large and broad.

A strange feeling came over him… something cold, a frigid gloom that suddenly overtook him and settled in the bottom of his gut; foreboding clouded his mind without warning.

And all at once, Sub-Zero saw it. For a split second, and that second only he saw it, clear as day.

The erratic flashes of lightning flickered across the sky and into the Tower window, and two red dots… barely the size of ants, but there nonetheless… two red dots, twinkling like lights on a Christmas tree, glared at Sub-Zero from the horizon, in the midst of a massive shadowy shape thrashing…

… And just as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and stoop up, it was gone. Flat water with small waves… nothing more.

…..

………. The room went suddenly silent as Sub-Zero stood from his seat, as though in a daze, and stumbled towards his room, murmuring apologetically; it was something about "be right back… rum…" and some unintelligible mutterings.

Robin blinked as he watched the white knight disappear into the corridor. "….." He turned to look at the others. "… What was that all about…?"

Starifire was the only one who spoke. "… I… do not know…

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Raven groaned, her head throbbing with a dull ache as she struggled to maintain her concentration. It seemed her mind was about to burst at any moment…

Ghost, knowing the weather hadn't improved at all, squeezed her a bit tighter in his arms and gently folded the edges of her kimono closed, keeping the frigid air out. He stroked her cheek once and murmured.

"Come on… Just a bit more, and then we can rest… please, just hang in there…"

She nodded, though her vision was blurry… "… Y-yeah… I am…." She tried to put it off, but he heard the fatigue creeping into her voice.

He squinted up ahead where, even through the thick fog of the storm and walls of rain, he could see the outline of a giant 'T'… barely out of their reach. Just another minute or so…

He looked down again. Raven's blue eyes were fluttering closed, slowly but surely….

He gulped as, like her eyes, the black shield protecting them from high-density atmospheric ice at high velocities…. Flickered like a light bulb whose power switch was being flicked.

Giving it a heave, he flapped faster and shot off like a bullet towards the tower…

The giant T shape in front of him grew rapidly larger and larger as he drew closer… he glanced at the weakening shield, the nearly asleep Raven, and the roof… no, there was no time. They were just going to have to land wherever they could.

Choosing a window near the upper floors that didn't look to be locked, he took aim and flung himself through midair at it, stretching out one hand.

Raven moaned softly. "Tired… can't…. can't… do it…"

The shield began fizzling out to gray, rather than black and becoming more and more transparent… The massive hail chunks exploded against its surface, leaving dents that gave Ghost an eerie idea of what could happen to them.

Almost there… just a bit more…

He reached out his hand… yanked open the window, and bolted in, slamming it behind him, probably alerting the others in the process, he thought.

And not a moment too soon, because Raven, overcome with fatigue (both from staying out so late and holding up a shield for such a prolonged length of time.) sighed and went limp, the force field fizzling out once and for all.

He sighed, getting up and gently cradling her up again. "… Well done, Raven… you've done it."

She murmured something in reply, still tired and sleepy…

He decided quickly she needed rest, badly. So he set off towards her room, deciding to go through the walls as a shortcut…

… Until he felt Raven's head thump softly against the wall and remembered she couldn't, without expending even more energy, go through walls like he could. So he was going to have to take the old fashioned route…

He dashed through the hallways down to her room, marked by that word that he'd memorized, yet couldn't read: RAVEN. He opened it up and took her inside, gently setting her down on her bed and pulling one of the sheets over her.

She almost instantly curled into a ball-shape and fell asleep.

Ghost sighed, staring at her in enamored fascination. Despite her dark features, there was still something so… angelic about her when she was asleep. He could watch her sleep all night…

Pulling a small wooden chair from her desk, he sat down nearby and sighed. "… How are you feeling?"

"… I'll be fine." She yawned in her sleep, a somewhat gravelly-voice, seeming to revert back to her usual dry personality… "Just… need some… rest…"

"I had better go tell the other's we-"

"YOU'RE BACK!"

Ghost slapped his forehead and groaned, as an excitable green shapeshifter darted from the doorway to his side.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you! Everybody's been so worried, with the raining and the hailing and the flooding and the windblowing and the—"

"That's… very kind of you all, but…" He covered Beast Boy's mouth, and whispered. "Can we discuss this elsewhere…?"

Beast Boy stared for a moment, puzzled, until Ghost motioned with a nod of his head towards the bed, where Raven was still laying limply in deep slumber. He gave a soft 'oh' of recognition and followed Ghost out of the room, shutting the doorway quietly behind him.

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"……. And…?"

"…………… And what?"

"… Grr… You came all the way out here. Aren't you going to say something?"

"Yeah! Of course I'm gonna say something. Just… not now…… In a sec."

"……… You embarrass me…"

"…. Ok, ok, I'm going; I'm GOING! _Geeze_……"

The blonde guy took a few deep breaths and, at the green, expenctant stare of his alien companion, spat on his hands, rubbed them together, and slicked his shaggy blonde hair back before approaching the completely oblivious silvery girl that stood out in front of them…

"Be smooth; act natural… be smooth; act natural, be…" A beat… "…. Heinously screwed, Man."

But even so, he kept walking, time seeming to slow to a crawl as his heart pounded in his throat, and air hissed like steam in his ears.

He froze, for a brief moment, but sensing the pupil-less, emerald eyes of Rynad'r boring into his back, he was spurred on; he kept on walking some more towards the girl in question…

As Geoforce neared her, slowly but steadily getting closer and closer, he felt as though he were looking upon a lifelike porcelain statue of some ancient Godess, the silvery sheen of her skin, the flashes of lightning caught in her blood-red eyes, the jarring beauty of her wild hair…

And suddenly, as if by teleportation, he abruptly found himself upon her, clearing his throat and shivering.

"… Uh… _ahem_…"

He sighed, getting his bearings…

"Um… s-s'cuse me, Miss, but uh… I was kinda wondering what happened here…?" He said, trying not to sound too hoarse, nor too anxious.

She started just ever-so-subtly, as though she hadn't even noticed his approach, and she turned to gaze at him with those large, reddish, heavily-mascara-laden eyes… and he gulped silently, stomach doing a definite cartwheel of sorts…

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you, there." The girl said amiably, with a silky voice complemented with what sounded vaguely like a subtle, British accent.

Geoforce swooned and his head spun, the world going from slow-motion to fast-forward and back again in seconds; he felt as though he was on some strange drug, new sensations tearing through him as they were: anxious, adrenaline-soaked, awed, euphoria….

He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't quite get anything much out of the accursed opening, which was usually so full of unneeded chatter, but betrayed him with silence when he needed eloquence the most.

The vision of beauty before him continued, unabashed by his stupor.

"I'm afraid there's been a little accident. The bus crashed… luckily, no one was hurt. They're calling rides now; I guess I should find one as well…"

Geoforce silently did an Inzone-style victory dance in his mind.

"… That's… awful." Geo sighed, shaking his head, although celebrating in his mind. "Were you going somewhere?" He felt embarrassed by the sheer bluntness of his questions, considering this girl was a perfect stranger, but he couldn't restrain his curiosity… nor could he suppress that burning drive, that desire to hear her melodious voice…

"Yes… actually…… I was on my way to a job interview…" She said slowly, a little surprised… though her eyes radiated amusement all the same. "Headed to Steel City, if you cared to know."

… Geoforce's pancreas did an Olympics styled backflip into his heart, causing it to ricochet off his lungs and stomach, sending the swarm of butterflies that formerly resided in the stomach up into his already rattled brain….

… Steel City was right nearby Jump City…

"Is that so?" He managed to say with a sheepish grin, even as his insides became eerily similar to raspberry gelatin. "Uh… that's a coincidence. We was just headed to Jump City ourselves…"

"Oh? '_We'_?" The girl asked curiously.

"Oh, uh…" Geoforce looked around; motioning eventually to Ryand'r, who was standing several feet off giving Geo that telltale, deadpan stare that said so eloquently… 'You sicken me… Simpleton.'

"My friend there, I was giving him a lift to Jump City… goes by name of Ryand'r…"

The girl blinked bemusedly for a second, then giggled—a silvery song that struck Geo's eardrum like so many gongs, like the singing of a nightingale that had learned from Orpheus himself…

"Wow. Ryand'r… that's… quite a name." She said softly, smiling. "I wonder… is yours quite as colorful?"

"Oh, I… uh…" He blanched, a little dumb-struck—more so than usual…

He cleared his throat, dousing himself with cold water mentally… "Name's Brion, Brion Markov. But… eh… friends call me Geoforce. Geo, for short, if you like…"

"Geoforce…" The girl repeated under her breath in a murmur and smiled serenely. She spoke again, in that same silver, misty voice with its English overtone… "It suits you."

He distinctly thought he felt something slither up his spine…

"Th-thanks…" He said. He was at a loss for anything else; the boy was utterly stunned, struck numb and dumb—all at once.

"Oh, silly me… I haven't even introduced myself. I'm…" She paused slightly, just a bit, between this word and the next, giving the latter incredible power. "…… Argent."

Geoforce's eyes nearly glazed over then and there. "… Argent…"

…

… Meanwhile, Ryand'r wondered where one might find an Earthling 'barf-bag' in the immediate vicinity. He had never been a romantic.

……

"Well, uh… it… suits you! Too, I mean!" Geoforce stammered, going just a little flushed. Once again, Argent either didn't notice or simply ignored it.

"Thank you." She paused. "… Your friend there… is he wearing contacts…?" She asked suddenly, gesturing towards Ryand'r with a fluid motion.

"Huh? … Oh! Oh, yeah… he, uh… very nearsighted… has to wear this big green contacts… Hehehe…" He said quickly, once again putting Ryand'r's luminous, Tamaranean eyes off to optical equipment.

"I see…" Argent said wispily with a nod.

There was a slight pause.

"Um… You know…" Geoforce starting, wetting his lips in an attempt to keep his voice up. "… IF you're going, to Steel City, then… well… that is, maybe… if you'd want…"

"… Yes…?" She said, perfectly oblivious or blatantly indifferent to his awkwardness.

"… Well…" He just couldn't get his feelings across…

Ryand'r walked up suddenly to them, with the vexed expression of one who could stand stupidity no longer.

"… What my oafish Earthling friend here, is trying to say…" Ryand'r began crisply and eloquently, "Is that he has absolutely, positively not the faintest idea what to say. … However… he _HAS_ offered you a ride to your destination, should you choose to take it." A pause. "… Good day." And with that, he walked off back to Geo's car, as though nothing had happened.

Geoforce, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and outrage, managed to calm himself enough to nod dumbly at what Ryand'r had said.

"Actually…. I… could use a ride…" Argent said slowly. "If you two would take me…"

Geo's mind reeled, and some anonymous sportscaster within his mind shouted out, 'It's good; Score!'

"S-sure! I mean… we'd be glad to!" Geo said quickly, as he motioned to his car and started walking. She followed him gracefully; she seemed, in his eyes at least, to more glide than walk.

"So… what line of work are you in, anyway?" Geo asked, attempting to make a bit of conversation.

"… Oh, just… sort've helping out around the community…" She said vaguely…

"Really? Sounds like interesting work…"

She smiled. "You have no idea."

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"How did you guys get back?" Beast Boy asked incredulously, green eyes big and wide. "And… why is Raven in a bathrobe…?"

Ghost fidgeted a bit, mismatched eyes narrowing. "It's… a kimono. And she purchased it from a gift shop…"

"Kimono? What's—"

"Eh… I'll explain later…" He said with a heavy sigh. The topic was too big for a tired guy to cover.

"Right, ok. Anyway…" Beast Boy grinned toothily. "It's good to see you back."

Ghost gazed at him for a moment… and smiled slowly back. "… Thank you."

A pause…

"She… had a shield up." Ghost said in explanation to Beast Boy's earlier question. "… That's how we got back."

"She held it up the whole time…?" Beast Boy asked suddenly, stopping in mid step and staring. "…… Oh man. No wonder she's… so tired……"

"Yes…" Ghost said with a solemn nod. "……She needs rest."

Beast Boy nodded back in agreement. "Yeah… and now that you guys have come back… we can just stick in here until this storm passes over." He said with a shudder.

Ghost blinked, noticing the changeling's obvious distaste for inclimate weather.

"…… I take it you don't like storms." Ghost said sagely.

"… I don't." Beast Boy admitted. "I dunno… they make me… uncomfortable. Nervous."

"Understandable." Ghost said. "Few people actually like them… or at least, few people like storms of this magnitude."

"… Yeah. Y'know… I think Sub-Zero doesn't like storms either." Beast Boy said thoughtfully.

"Why do you say that?" Ghost asked curiously with a blink.

"Well, earlier we were sitting around trying to decide what we were gonna do, and he was just looking out the window…… and all the sudden, got up and walked off all shaky lookin'…"

Ghost thought for a moment as they walked down the hall, adjusting his monocle absent-mindedly. "…… Possibly. Then again… I think perhaps Jinx's absence might have more to do with it than anything. Someone who cares about her as much as he does… must pine for her when she's gone, yes?"

Beast Boy snickered. "Yeah. I hadn't even thought about that…"

The walked into the main room…

… Ghost was immediately assaulted with questions: how was Raven, how was he, how had they gotten back, was the weather as bad as it looked, how had the date gone… more than he could keep up with at once. Finally, he held up his hand for silence.

"I'm sorry… it's just… can you repeat those slowly? I'm… a bit tired at the moment." He yawned. "but I can tell you: Raven is all right—dreadfully tired, but all right nonetheless. I am fine myself, though I could do with some sleep. We came back thanks to Raven; she shielded us as I flew us back. And… well… things… went rather well."

"Raven's in a Kimona!" Beast Boy spoke up suddenly.

"…. Kimono…"

"uh… yeah, that…"

Most in the room stared blankly, except for Robin who looked up in surprise. Apparently, he was the only one who knew what a Kimono was. "… She's… what?"

"She, um… thought it fit for us to get a change of clothes while we were out…" Ghost said sheepishly, pointing to his own modern-looking clothes… they had noticed, but hadn't asked, he was sure.

"… She did?" Terra asked slowly, batting her blue eyes thoughtfully. "… That… doesn't seem like Raven……"

"I know." Ghost nodded. "…… It sounds strange, I know, but… she… wasn't herself tonight. She was……"

He struggled for a word.

"…… Happy. Cheerful. Bubbly…" He said slowly. "And… much more energetic than usual…"

"Raven…? … Cheerful?" Blackfire repeated slowly.

Starfire sniffed. "Friend Raven…… has not taken a blow to the head, has she?"

"No. I assure you, she's fine. In fact… she was acting… better than usual. I don't know what had gotten into her, but… she—"

Everyone in the room jumped as a sudden crack of lightning echoed throughout the night, brightening the room with a split-second flash of fury before fading out to blackness again.

"…… I think… we should get some sleep. Or at least, try." Robin said suddenly. "… Ghost has had a long night, just like the rest of us. Let's just… see if we can't wait out this storm……"

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Ghost wasn't altogether sure why he had come back to Raven's room instead of descending to his basement dwelling. But there was just… something there. Something about the way she slept, something about her short violet locks tangled around the pillows, something about her pale slender fingers clutching the sheets… something so beautiful that his eyes just couldn't get enough; he felt as though even in its blindness, his bad eye could still palpably sense the radiance that Raven seemed to be exuding to him.

He sat down on the chair next to her bed again, just… staring as though in some deep trance. He scarcely moved as he watched Raven's sides slowly but surely rise and fall with the deep, tired breaths of a sleeper, enjoying some long-overdue rest; Goodness knows she needed it.

Ghost, even as he willed himself to stay awake—if only for the opportunity to look upon such beauty some more—found his eyelids growing weak and heavy, and he became tired; the night had taken its toll upon him.

… The last thing he saw before the darkness of slumber overtook him was the soft moonlight from the outside, visible even in the storm, drifting into the window and reflecting off Raven's silvery skin…


	23. Chapter Twenty, Part Two

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty, Part Two_**

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The next morning, Raven yawned, softly turning over in bed as wakefulness descended upon her again. She pulled a few of the blankets around herself, curling up more tightly. She listened absentmindedly to the weather outside…

She flopped over onto her back, and sighed softly. There was something… different… something… she couldn't quite place.

She reached up to brush a few stray hairs from her ear, and… felt something metallic…

"……?"

She followed the object further up and realized it was IN her ear.

… An earring.

In that moment, about seven light bulbs at random locations in the Tower exploded.

Raven sat bolt upright and suddenly found she was wearing an Asian kimono-robe…

… Then, without warning, everything that had happened came back to her in a flood of memories, leaving her… both relieved and aghast somehow.

But before the young sorceress had much time to dwell on it, she heard a soft snoring from nearby, and looked down.

There, on the foot of the bed, Ghost was slumped totally over from his seat in a chair and was lying stomach-down on her bed, on top of her legs; his monocle was slightly crooked and a faint, content smile was on his face.

… Raven felt what either could have been an electrical shock or a bunch of butterflies being released into her gut. Her face went a shade of red that would have made a tomato seem pink.

"…….." Raven was, for once in her life, at a loss as to what to do. Her first impulse had been to immediately berate him with a good tongue lashing, asking him if he had any concept at all of the term, 'Personal Space.' … But…

She couldn't.

He wasn't _Really_ doing any harm, and… truth be told, it was actually a little nice still having him around. She felt whatever had come over her earlier in the night rising within her again; a flush spread across her face.

… She couldn't even get up. To do so would be to wake him up, and… he just looked far too cute asleep to bring herself to do that.

"… What did I do to deserve this…?" She mumbled to herself, seeing the only course of action was simply to flop back down and go back to sleep. Even though it was now morning, the storm was still going on strong outside, rendering the city a gray haze.

A crash of thunder broke the silence and her eyes opened again, a little startled. Trying to get to sleep once more, she closed her eyes… but she couldn't do it. She was too anxious right now.

Ok, so sleeping was out of the question. She HAD to wake him up.

With a sigh she reached over to the sleeping boy with her left hand and gently patted his shoulder. "… Ghost…"

He murmured something in his sleep, but didn't stir.

She tugged a few more times, lightly but insistently shaking him and trying to wake him up. "Ghost…"

This time he yawned loudly, and his eyes opened up hazily, blinking and crossed. Once he sat up, back popping audibly from sleeping stooped-over-in-the-chair the night before, his brain clicked with realization and he immediately gasped and flapped over to the opposite side of the room like a panicked bird, putting as much distance between them as possible, eyes—even the blind white one—fearful and ashamed.

"R-Raven! I'm sorry! I mean… I, I didn't mean to intrude, I just—"

"Calm down!" She said, sitting up fully and climbing out of bed. "Calm down, I'm not mad."

Upon seeing that he was in no immediate danger of being skewered on a shaft of sizzling-hot black energy, he relaxed somewhat, slumping to the floor with a sigh.

They both stared at each other for a second, completely unsure of what to say…

Two demonic creatures—one fiercely anti-social, and the other having the courageous-fortitude of a small ostrich. Not good odds, conversationally speaking…

Raven's eyes contrasted sharply with her pale skin, like deep blue sapphires set against a frame of pure silver. They dazzled Ghost in the darkness, and he could scarcely say a word.

Raven stared at Ghost as well, her mind already weighted with guilt over scaring him to death, no pun intended. And if she didn't say something…

"… I… I'm sorry." Raven said suddenly, unable to think of anything else. "… I was just trying to wake you up."

"Oh, I… I'm alright." He insisted, despite the fact his hands were still shaking somewhat—but then, perhaps they always did that. "I didn't want to upset you, that's all…"

She flushed again, turning to the side. "If you had, it wouldn't be your fault. I'm an easy person to upset…" She said, her voice somewhat glum and self-sarcastic.

"I suppose so." Ghost said, relief allowing him to speak more freely…

… Too freely, in fact.

"… But you're still as beautiful when you're wracked with consternation." He realized too late the words that had come from his mouth and mentally slapped his forehead.

He flinched, but contrary to his expectations, she made no reproach, nor did she react with anger or embarrassment. Rather, she looked down at the floor and walked silently over to the window of her dimmed room, the only source of light aside from her numerous candles...

The dim glow that managed to permeate the chamber reflected off of her, as though she were made from glass, and made the room brighter than it should have been… at least, in Ghost's point-of-view. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, even when the beholder is blind.

He was broken by his reverie when she took a shallow breath and started speaking, still not looking at him. "…… I feel… lost."

He blinked, considering her tone and the weight of her word before repeating softly. "… Lost…?"

She was hunched over just slightly as she pulled the curtains closed, leaving only the candles to illuminate them; and then, he couldn't help but wonder at what a pitiful figure she made… bent forward a bit, face obscured by hair, and with a voice full of painful confusion.

"I feel… different." She continued. "… It's you."

His heart sunk, because he couldn't tell if that was an accusation or a good remark. "I…? I haven't meant to—"

She went on, shaking her head. "… I don't know what to do. I thought I'd made up my mind… maybe not."

Then, grasping the flowers he'd brought her—now in a vase—she held them up with both hands, suddenly seeming so much smaller and meeker than usual, clasped around its slender top, allowing the flowers to bloom from the top of her fist.

She looked up at him, and as the hair fell away from her face, Ghost saw something there he hadn't before. Her eyes, still beautiful, but now they were hollow and empty looking; His spirits fell even lower as guilt filled his gut. … Had he done this to her somehow…?

"I can't. I can't do what I did tonight every day. I took enough risk just by being open with my emotions around you…" She said suddenly, though the sentence was interrupted every few syllables by a small gasp or sigh or stutter. "… But I want to. God, I… I… want to…"

She suddenly looked down again, her piercing eyes turned upon the windowsill again. She raised one hand and placed it palm-forward upon the cool glass of the window, as though to support herself. In moments, her entire body, from the head to the toes, had begun to shake silently with suppressed tears.

Ghost was in agony by this point, though how much was physical and how much was in his heart, he couldn't say.

He'd done this to her. He'd caused her such pain, even when he'd never meant to.

… He began fading out into nothingness, deciding he'd done enough damage, concluding he would only hurt her, even by his mere presence; he was not fit to even stand in her light—or shadow, perhaps… either would be ironically appropriate for her.

… But he stopped.

He came back to full visibility, and stared.

He'd run away from so many problems.

Not this one. He was going to make things right… somehow, he was going to make things right.

He took a deep breath as Raven broke down in front of him, and made up his mind as to what he was going to do. It was now… or never.

He took several steps, slowly and delicately, as though trying not to make too much noise. He did so in a calm fashion, replacing the visage of worry from before with a calm face that was no particular expression, but erred more on the side of a smile than anything else.

Raven, with a tiny movement, tilted her head to look at him with a strange expression; it combined a face of desperate yearning, with one of morbid fear… because though she silently, wordlessly begged him, willed him, wished him to come closer, she couldn't help but feel Trigon's influence growing hotter within her as he did so. Her emotions gave him free reign, and even now she felt something like a hot coal in her stomach…

Her heart began to pound as he silently moved closer, until finally—just when she felt it should burst—he was right there in front of here, oddly calm; his serene expression contrasted with her wide-eyes, tear-streaked face.

… Without warning, he did the unthinkable.

He fell onto his knees, putting him at a roughly equal height with the bent Raven… and wrapped her silently into a hug, holding her as though to never let go.

… What transpired within the next few minutes was something of a silent miracle. Something… something you cannot tell from watching; you must feel it. There was no change in their appearance; they stayed stationary in an embrace for several minutes, but…

Raven seemed almost to melt in his arms, to come apart, to unwind… she was like a Russian nesting-doll, opening up layer by layer to reveal the closely guarded reality beneath. And as this happened, she began… to feel warmth course through her, from her fingertips to the very hairs upon her head, and she sighed, going limp in his caress.

The tears flowed freely now, no longer subdued. She wept silently, but furiously, into his shoulder, leaving a puddle on his clothes. And along with the draining of tears from her eyes, she almost felt the drainage of a life's worth of suffering—the awkward sociality, the guilt of threatening those you love against your will, the looming specter of fear that constantly grips your shoulder… all of it, running out fluidly onto his shoulder.

He saw this pain; Hell, he palpably FELT it in the room, like a physical presence besides their own, and wondered faintly how to dispel it. As he held Raven close and gently stroked the backside of her neck, he searched the room with his eyes, searching desperately for some idea as to how to make her pain cease.

And his eye, the one good one, caught sight of a small book on the top of her smallest bookshelf.

It was blue… light blue, with a small red tassel to serve as a bookmark.

He could not read a word printed on the cover, but… just underneath…. There was printed a picture of a musical note.

An outlandish, frivolous, guaranteed-not-to-work idea entered his head.

… And he went with it anyway.

Crossing his fingers, he took a deep breath, fighting against the dryness of his throat. He cleared his throat softly, licking his lips… and opened his mouth in a soft, wavering musical note.

Her hand, which had been clutching so tightly at his, loosened ever so slightly and her breathing became more even, less wracked. Encouraged, he continued.

… He didn't even sing anything in particular; he improvised a simple melody off the top of his head, his elegant tenor voice flowing out like an unseen ribbon of silk, wrapping around Raven and clutching her fast to him.

Raven, though it was obscured by the fact that her head was buried into his chest, was wide-eyed.

His impromptu aria had no real words; it consisted of simple "_la's_", and "_ah's_"… thus it was not the song, but… simply his voice; the utter purity of his high, ringing sound, contrasting sharply with its deep, dark resonance… it struck the listener to the bone—with warmth.

Raven's already limp form slackened further, crumpling like a rag in his gentle grasp; she began quivering subtly as an electrical tingling inched its way up her spine, her ears almost deafened, not by volume, but by virtuoso. She gasped out loud for no real reason, reaching her head up a bit and nuzzling into his neck, thus motivating him further to continue.

Her eyes fluttered, eventually closing as he hit a climax in the melody, his voice somehow managing to ring and shake the very walls, despite being soft as a whisper. And with that… she was asleep…

… But not before one very important decision had been made in her mind.

Risks were risks. They will always be risks, even if you try to avoid them. Trigon… was not going to cheat her from the bit of Joy she could squeeze out of life, neither with her friends… or with… Ghost.

He continued even as he lifted her up like a doll and carefully sat her down on her bed again. Only as he pulled the sheets over her form and made sure the pillow was securely behind her violet locks did he maintain the last note, trilling into a near-silent finale and fading out into a humming silence.

… He sighed, pleased that she had at least been comforted.

But as he turned to leave, he realized he had not fallen on deaf ears. As his eyes turned to the doorway, he stared numbly, every fiber of his being suddenly freezing on the spot.

There stood every single inhabitant of the Tower, jaws nearly on the ground and eyes the size of dinner-plates, staring at him as though he'd just walked across water.

… One could almost hear the crickets.

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"Aw, c'mon Dawg; ain't nothin' to be ashamed of." Cyborg called through the sturdy wooden door leading down to Ghost's basement room.

"No!" An insistent, flustered voice echoed from within for the twentieth time.

"… Friend Ghost! We only wish to inquire as to the emotional involvement between you and friend Raven! Curiosity is tormenting!" Star added, tapping the door.

"No, blast you!" The voice came out again, much like before.

"Guys, I really think we should just leave him alone." Robin grunted as he tried (unsuccessfully) to pry Star away from the door; she didn't seem to realize he was doing it.

"Are you kidding?" Smoke sniggered, almost in a fit with laughter. "This is the funniest thing that's happened all day!"

Beast Boy high-fived him. "Yeah! I mean… just… that face, when he saw we were there…"

"I thought he was gonna faint." Blackfire added, laughing as hard as they were.

"I thought that too…" Terra said thoughtfully. "… Or maybe throw up. It could've been either."

The only one who seemed less-enthusiastic about this whole affair was Sub-Zero, who was propped up against a wall, staring vaguely at Robin's pitiful attempts to restrain his ecstatic alien Girlfriend. But in reality, he was concentrating on… other matters.

"… I almost hate to say it…" He grumbled absent-mindedly. "But It might be better for you guys to go bug Raven. I don't know how much longer he's going to stand for it."

"Man, Lighten up!" Smoke said, slapping Zero on the back (and producing a loud clank on his armor). "I mean… we just found out that Batty-Boy here, not only is apparently Raven's new lovebir—er, bat… AND, that he can sing like Luciano Pavarotti on steroids!"

At these words, poor Blackfire and Beast Boy howled with laughter, almost suffocating.

"True. It's just…"

Zero trailed off, not sure how to explain himself.

Starfire, finally, seemed to forget Ghost for a moment and turned her doe-eyed attention to him. "Friend Sub-Zero… is something the matter…?"

'Well… if you call something-out-there-that's-flooding-the-city-and-coming-for-us… something the matter… then yes…' He thought sarcastically. But he doubted anyone would listen to that.

He sighed, finally just deciding to speak what was on his mind. "… Something… something's doing this. Causing this storm."

In all the ruckus, they'd almost forgotten the storm that still raged outside with no signs of stopping. They went silent.

Robin arched an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"I… Look, I can't explain. Or if I did, you'd think I was crazy." He said impatiently. "I just… I know. This is not natural. It's…"

He paused. Dare he say it…? … Sure. Why not?

"… It's Trigon's work." He stated matter-of-factly. "You can't tell me none of you have thought of that by now."

"……. I have…" Robin said, even while everyone else looked at Zero as though he were quite mad. "… But I'd… really it rather not be." He sighed. "And I didn't want to bring it up around Raven… she's been through enough as it is."

"Thank you for that." A voice abruptly called from within Ghost's room, causing everyone to sweatdrop.

"All joking aside…" Robin groaned, sitting down and rubbing his temples. "… I'm… beginning to agree with him. This has been going on nonstop, for hours, with no signs of slowing or stopping."

"Yeah. And it ain't even hurricane season yet." Cyborg said, shaking his head. "…… But if this is Trigon… what do we do about it?"

Terra and Beast Boy, both of whom were huddling together at the name Trigon, gulped in succession, one after the other.

Beast Boy shook his head. "… I think there's only one thing we can do, Dude… wait…"

"Wait for what?" Smoke retorted sharply. "Wait for another of his little pets to swim up and bite us on the ass?"

"Well then…. I guess You have a better idea?" Terra asked with a sigh.

"Hell yes! We start stockpiling. Getting ready. Whenever whatever-it-is comes, be ready for it. THAT'S my plan." He huffed gruffly.

The conversation went on, each of them taking a turn to speak, as they discussed what should be done. They were all agreed upon Smoke's statement that they needed to be prepared for the worst, but… how to do that was unclear. But as they talked and debated, they walked back upstairs to the living room, leaving the basement quiet and dim again.

… There was a soft creak… and Ghost stuck his head out of the doorway, looking around to see if they were gone. Upon seeing that he was, indeed, alone at the moment, he slumped against a wall and groaned.

He'd never been so embarrassed in his life—which, granted, hadn't been all that long. And he wasn't sure if he'd ever been this embarrassed in his other life, but… he doubted it.

He'd been so ashamed at the time; he'd literally disappeared into the floor below himself, vanishing into the basement where he could be alone with his frustration. Ever since, they'd been begging him to come out, telling him that he had a beautiful voice (Starfire) and that he'd done nothing to be embarrassed about (Cyborg). … When Robin had asked what was wrong with Raven, he'd simply responded through the door. "… Me."

He hoped, at least, that he'd helped. It seemed so, because she'd been smiling as she went to sleep. But he just wished he'd known how he'd upset her so in the first place. … Just… his presence?

With these thoughts and more in mind, he sighed and opened the door to go back in again…

… And found himself face-to-face with a hooded figure.

"**WAH**!" he leapt back, thudding against the wall and sliding off.

"…… Don't hurt yourself." Raven said dryly from the doorway as she pulled her hood down, smiling.

He stared silently for a few seconds before exhaling a huge breath and slumping to the ground.

"Raven… you startled me…" He said.

"So I gathered." She said, still smiling serenely.

He couldn't help but grin a little in return. "…… Are you… feeling all right now?"

Perhaps it was just the light, but as she responded in her usual calm, dry voice, he thought he saw a flush spread across her cheeks. "… Never been better." She looked around a bit, and sighed. "Ghost… c-can… can I talk to you in private? Just for a minute?"

He wasn't sure whether to gulp or disco at this statement. But at any rate, he smiled as best he could and said, "Of course."

He got to his feet and hurried to follow her into his room, his heart speeding up its rapid thumps as she shut the door behind them.

… She walked over and sat down cross-legged on his bed, staring intently at the ground for a moment. But soon enough, just when the silence became awkward, she looked up and began shakily.

"Why didn't you ever do that before?"

He blanched. "… What?"

She shook her head, still looking at him with genuine fascination. "… Why haven't you ever… sung before?"

It was his turn to go red and he tried to avoid her gaze—but once again, he was hypnotized by those azure orbs…

"Well, I… I'm… really not that goo—"

"That's a lie." Raven said softly, but sternly, cutting him off. "And you know it."

Ghost went redder still, allowing himself a smile. "… You… you liked it?"

At this point, she stared at him silently a short moment, and then nodded slowly. "I… I did. Your voice… I mean…" She paused, not sure how to say what was thumping in her chest. "… It was… beautiful." She said finally.

He smiled and nodded earnestly a few times, trying the bright-red flush spreading across his tan skin. "… D-domo arigato."

… Silence again hung over them. What now?

Raven cleared her throat silently. "I… I brought you something. I thought maybe we could do together."

He blinked. "What?"

"Well… I guess…" She paused, now fidgeting and feeling VERY awkward. "…… You should do something together. With… a person… that you care about." She said slowly and unsurely, smiling nervously.

It took his stunned mind a few seconds to digest what she'd just said. Then, he flinched as though he'd stuck his finger to a hot pot. "… You mean… you… and me……" he tried desperately to think how to say it. "… We're……" He trailed off weakly.

But Raven got his message even so, and nodded earnestly as the blush on her face grew more and more pronounced.

She walked over to him, his pounding heart almost audible in the thin air, and shifted her weight nervously for a second before saying, "… Don't faint."

"… Huh?"

She answered him by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her level, kissing him fully on the lips.

For a moment, he felt like a stone to her. Like she was holding onto a stiff statue. … But after a couple seconds of this, he began—slowly but surely—to loosen up, his eyes half closing and his arms closing around her shoulders in a hug.

Subconsciously, his wings began to unfurl and emerge from his back, wrapping around the blissfully-oblivious Raven like a pair of dark blankets.

Raven reluctantly broke the kiss after a moment, looking short-of-breath and wide-eyed at her own actions. She cleared her throat, and began to speak again as she drew in deep breaths. "Ghost… I…"

"… Yes?" He said breathlessly, putting a hand to her cheek—and looking, likewise, surprised at his own boldness.

She closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her face against his hand a moment before continuing. "I… I think…… I _Know_… that…" She seemed to be struggling to say words that she was longing to shout out loud.

Finally, with one huge effort, she blurted the words out breathlessly. "I _love_ you."

……………………..

…………………….

……………………..

…There was a silence…

Ghost was stunned, and had a feeling much akin to winning the lottery. "… I…" He could scarcely speak. "… I love you as well…"

… They stayed in one-another's embrace for several minutes, not saying a word.

Finally, Raven smiled peacefully and said: "… You remember I had something for you?"

He sighed, barely able to talk. He hid it from Raven, but he was struggling against tears—from his good eye at least. His monocle was fogged up… choking them back, he responded to her. "Yes…? What is it?"

She reached into an inner-fold of her blue cloak… and produced a small, hardbacked book with a black cover with gilded golden trim. A small crimson ribbon was attached as a page marker.

"A book." She said simply, handing it to him as he turned to her.

Pretending to adjust his monocle—really wiping his eyes—he smiled sadly and thrust it back to her. "… I… I can't read remember?"

She nodded with a smile. "No…" She pushed it back to his hands. "… But I can. And **you**, Mister…" She said with an uncharacteristically playful air, prodding him in the chest. "… Can learn."

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"…… I think… that I will soon be in a state of much optical moisture if matters proceed any further." An alien sniffled happily outside the doorway… to her friends, both of whom—like her—had their ears pressed against the door firmly.

Blackfire and Terra, the other two whom had listened to the entire point from when they'd gone in the room, were both slack-jawed and every bit as watery-eyed as Starfire.

"… I can't believe it…" Terra stammered. "… Raven? … In love?"

"You heard it." Blackfire said flatly, though she seemed to be reeling with the revelation herself. "… But… what are we going to do about it? Other than be happy for her, of course?"

Starfire smacked her palm decisively. "We must inform everyone at once; all our friends must know of friend Raven and friend Ghost's blissful emotional-union!"

"Yeah…" Blackfire said with a nod. "… Right after we get out of here. Before they decide to open the door for some air."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Terra said quickly.

In thirty seconds, there was no trace the basement had ever had anyone in it besides the two lovebirds—or love-demons, as the case may be.

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"What is it?" Ghost asked, craning over to look at the cover of the book—even though he knew it would do no good.

"Just some various poems and short stories." She said with a shrug. "There's all kinds of stuff in here. I thought… I'd let you pick." She smiled handing it to him.

He glanced down at the book hesitantly. "But… how do I—"

"Just turn until you get to something you might like." She explained with a shrug. "I know you can't read it. But until you just get a feeling that it looks interesting."

So as she watched, he began absent-mindedly flicking through the old pages of the book, staring emptily at the smattering of little marks and symbols set before him. He did this at least a few minutes, before…

There it was. Like a bright beacon in a black expanse, the word jumped out at him; he knew it by heart even though he couldn't even understand how the little symbols that made it up translated to such a beautiful word. He knew it because he'd painstakingly copied once, with much care and fear of error.

Without a word, he handed it to her and pointed at the page.

She brought it up to her face, and gasped silently, blushing.

Still, she couldn't refuse his expectant look. So she cleared her throat and swallowed—and began to read aloud.

_"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,  
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,  
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,  
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.  
'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, tapping at my chamber door -  
Only this, and nothing more…"_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"You're yankin' our chain…" Smoke stuttered, dropping the can of soft drink he'd been slurping. "… Aren't you?"

"No! No, I swear it's true!" Blackfire protested, motioning to Star and Terra. "They both heard it too!"

Robin looked positively dazed. "… She… Raven…" A beat. "… Huh…?"

Sub-Zero and Cyborg looked at each other dumbly, at a loss for anything to say, while Beast Boy looked as though he were going to burst into laughter at any moment—but was, for lack of better words, too shocked to do so easily.

"She said she loved him and everything!" Cooed Terra, starry-eyed. "It was so beautiful…"

"Yeah. And now we have something to blackmail Raven with…" Blackfire snickered, elbowing Smoke.

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**_A Couple Of Minutes Later…_**

_"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting  
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;  
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,  
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;  
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor  
Shall be lifted – nevermore."_

As Raven finished the poem she was reading, 'The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe', she could already see its effects upon Ghost. He was entranced, fascinated.

"That… was lovely…" He sighed. "… In a rather morbid sort of way, but still…"

"Morbid and lovely?" She said skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "How can something be both?" She said. She actually agreed with him, but she was just curious as to his answer.

"Well… it's difficult to say… but…" His eyes suddenly rose and met hers. "… I know of other things that are." He explained with a grin, prompting her to darken into a shade of pink.

… She bit her lip thoughtfully. "Ghost…"

"Yes?"

"… What did you remember? Last night?" She asked, curiosity no longer containable. "At that place?"

He stared hollowly a moment, and then sighed, looking downwards. "… It… it's difficult to say. The memory of it is… vague, at best." He suddenly rubbed his blind eye and sighed, wrinkling his nose. "But… I remember… it was so…" He couldn't think how to say it. "… Blurred."

She cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… It was… as if I was looking at it through warped glass. Everything was so… distorted; dim and unclear."

… A pause.

"Let me see." Raven said gently.

He stared. "… Wha…?"

"Let me see it… from your eyes." She said simply. She outstretched a hand, palm up and touched his forehead. … Realizing what she was doing, he got a little nervous.

"What should I do?" He asked hesitantly.

"Just lie back… relax. Try to go to sleep if you can." She said, pulling the blanket over him, but keeping her hand right on his head.

… And within the next few minutes, he was asleep. And Raven had a free-ticket to the most mysterious show on Earth.


	24. Chapter Twenty, Part Three

_Disclaimer: For the love of God, Teen Titans isn't mine, already!_

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty, Part Three_**

Raven felt a sensation of sudden disorientation as she closed her eyes, but she knew it would pass quickly, as it always had; she knew all too well this sensation of being dunked into black, cool, deep water.

It was the feeling of entering one's mind, and she had to be very careful of how she went about it.

She'd wondered ever since she met Ghost what went on in the dark recesses of his mind, and what exactly was locked up so tightly that even he couldn't see or reach it. And now that she could actually look without shame of doing so, she intended to take advantage of the opportunity.

She floated, hovered, glided for several minutes along a sea of cold white mist set against black. Nothing but blackness, a pitch-dark ink color that enveloped everything, yet even in the absence of light it was easy to make out mist and various vague shapes all around… as though one was alone, yet surrounded at the same time.

She wasn't as bothered by it as most, however, and continued to float along calmly, her only sign of discomfort being her tugging of the blue robes around herself for warmth.

She could sense so many things. Emotions… Intelligence… Senses—though one part of this resonated much more weakly than the other… and far off, faintly there but still noticeable: memories.

It was a bit like trying to make your way through a maze. She would follow what she felt, the things she sensed—only to suddenly run into nothing and stop short, like a wall of invisible glass lay before you. Thus, she was forced to turn and, at times, even backtrack and look for an alternate route through this bizarre dreamscape that was Ghost's mind.

She felt herself drawing near to… something…

No, not a memory. It was just… a feeling. An emotion.

Curious, she drew closer…

As she pressed on, following the powerful sense of her soul, she suddenly felt herself drop as if through several pitfalls. She cried out, but no sound was heard; all remained silent. … After a moment of plummeting, she felt herself seem to stop again, and…

… All at once, she was flooded with… happiness. Joy. Elation. Rejoicing. A euphoric swarm of positive emtions that rushed over her in such quantity that she flew back a couple feet, stunned.

She focused, trying to make out her surroundings… and suddenly realized the massive shape looming before her.

She gasped silently and floated back, but… it didn't take her long to realize, she was looking at a statue. A statue…

… Of herself.

She stared numbly. At first, it seemed exactly true to life, not lacking in any detail—and it wasn't. But… there was something more… it was… somehow, even more beautiful than she. It was as though whoever carved out the image based it not on Raven herself, but on their own perception of her. It was absolutely flawless, like her in all respects except even better.

… Was that how he looked at her…?

Telling herself to stick to the task at hand, she left this area and began seeking out memories once again, going through the same trial-and-error process as before, but eventually stumbling upon the jackpot, as it were.

She suddenly found herself in a raging vortex of colors, bright and blinding against the shadows around. It swirled and frothed, like paint being sloshed and splashed against a blackboard, and she was caught up in it. Slowly, surely, it all began to settle, to take form, to span into something more—like a moving picture with echoing, dreamlike sound…

She was staring at a boy.

… No…

… She was… staring at Ghost.

Unaware of her presence, he took a few steps back, clad in white Japanese clothes and without his usual monocle or weaponry. In their stead, he wielded a wooden sword, which he gripped with as much focus as though it had been a claymore.

She looked around. All around her was forest—pure, green, unbroken, untouched forest. The only signs of civilization… lay in the presence of a small, plain house nearby. The sliding screen door and thatched roof gave it away immediately as being of Asian—probably Japanese—design.

She saw a dummy, shaped like a person, made out of leather and stuffed with what looked like hay. It hung neatly from a tree, and it suddenly occurred to her what Ghost was doing—sword fighting.

She watched expectantly with a slight smile, waiting on him to turn around and charge suddenly, lashing out at the dummy.

… But he didn't.

As Raven blinked confusedly, he suddenly dashed forward and gave a small shrubbery of a tree in front of him a good thrashing.

… What was he doing…?

A man… a man exited the house; he was an old, elderly man—clearly of Asian descent—with long white hair and a Fu-Manchu mustache, but no beard. Though she had no clue who it was, she immediately trusted him with being so near to Ghost—there was something in the old man's eyes… kindness, perhaps. Or soft heartedness, that she had seen somewhere before…

As he began speaking to the boy, in tones that she couldn't quite make out… she realized. It was in his eyes. Ghost's eyes. They held that same look that this strange old man had now…

Come to think of it—the similarity between them, if you ignored the ages, was… remarkable. Both were of average height, though erring a bit on the tall side, and very thin… the faces of both had smooth features, contrasted sharply with sharp angular eyes.

Could they be related?

The man re-entered the house, just before the boy half-heartedly sat his wooden sword down on a simple wooden bench against the wall of the house and followed him in.

… She couldn't help but notice something peculiar: Ghost's movements. As he walked, he kept one hand on the wall, letting it slide across and feel the flat surface. Then, at the steps, he took careful hold of the handrailing and didn't so much walk up the stairs as he did pull himself up, hesitantly lowering his foot as though he might be lowering it into nothing. Finally, he reached out and felt the door, sliding his hand across it before finally swinging it to the side and sliding it open so that he could walk in.

… Then, with a sudden jolt, it hit her. He didn't have his monocle on.

But just as her eyes widened with realization, everything faded out, the colors foaming and churning, dissolving into nothing once again, yet then back into something different; it was a constant kaleidoscope of flashes, blurs, and spots.

…

…… Dim… so dim. It was night, it seemed… she opened her eyes, gazing about and trying to see what was going on around her.

Ghost. He was right in front of her, now suddenly looking much more like himself—clad in the same clothes and monocle, holding a shuriken absent-mindedly. He was sitting upon a cliff edge… a cliff, in the middle of what looked—upon gazing at the surroundings—like a barren field; utter no-man's land.

He twirled the small star-shaped weapon in front of his eyes gazing at it hollowly.

… Something was missing. The ghost she knew, like the boy and the old man, had that look. That glimmer in the eyes. It wasn't there…

He gazed up at the stars, and for a moment, just a split second, Raven wondered whether she might take a bit of light from them and place them back in his deep brown eyes, where it belonged.

The boy made as if to throw the shuriken, but dropped it—intentionally.

He followed it with an empty, yet half-amused stare as it tumbled down the rocks of the cliff and into the foaming, hissing ocean below. He repeated this process with a few rocks…

Raven suddenly felt something rising in her gut. A feeling of foreboding; she suddenly wished she could go to him, speak to him, beg him not to do anything he'd—she'd—regret…

And that's when he stood. Balancing himself lithely on both feet, a far cry from the stumbling boy she'd just seen, he began striding forward, but listlessly. The boy was clumsy, no doubt, but he was still vivid with energy, with life. … The young man she saw now walked almost mechanically, arms hanging limply at the sides. He had… changed…

Her thoughts snapped back to the present as she saw him reach the edge, standing literally half upon ground and half upon air. He stood there, motionless as a statue… for a long time; how long, Raven didn't quite know…

He suddenly moved. He was… laughing. No… crying.

… Both…?

Indeed, his mouth was twisted upwards in a smile—but such a surreal one; it lacked… anything and everything. It was a smile in shape only, the rest of it empty and meaningless, as were his gaunt eyes, from which dripped shimmering tears, reflecting tiny bits of moonlight in the darkness…

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, this strange behavior stopped. And Raven suddenly found herself shaking…

The young man looked around at the barren surroundings, so closely matching what was in his eyes, and spread out both arms like wings, his sleeves blown slightly as the wind picked up and howled mournfully.

… Raven suddenly felt a chill come upon her. Before she knew what she was doing, she broke into a run. She knew what was going to happen. She didn't know how, but she knew it. She ran, she screamed out to him, yet with no sound, and willed herself just to reach him before…. Before…..

Pushing the thought from her mind, she continued running as fast as her legs would take her; she knew it was pointless. She knew he couldn't hear her, nor could he feel or touch or sense her; she knew she was going to have to watch it happen… but…

His arms lowered, and just as her hand outstretched itself upon her slender arm, he moved out of her reach—and from that day forth, out of anyone's reach.

A deathly pallor overcame her, and she fell to the ground, staring dazedly.

He was gone.

… Somewhere, amongst the hissing and the dull roar of the sea, she heard it. A splash…

… And it was over.

…………..

…. A flash of lights and colors, which she was almost used to by now, suddenly overcame her as before, and she silently begged to find herself staring at him again, staring at him in one piece, with that sheen in his gaze.

The whirl of colors settled.

She was now simply sitting upon a small stool in what seemed to be some sort of restaurant or inn perhaps. Seats, tables, mats, everything around her was crowded by young men and women, roughly of the ages of 16-25 or so… there seemed to be more boys than girls…

She didn't care. She searched the small building frantically… looking around the eating and drinking and laughing people for the shape she wanted so to see.

And just as she began to give up, everything suddenly became quiet—the creaking of a door opening was heard.

She looked—there he was. And smiling just as she was used to.

In fact, he seemed flat out happy at the moment—walking back and forth from tables of young men, all of whom laughed and talked with him like good friends; he would respond back to them and sit down for a moment to have a sip or eat a bite, before moving onto another table.

She relaxed somewhat, forcing herself to forget what she'd seen previously; willing it from her mind forever.

She stared in amazement. Everyone seemed to know Ghost. The crowd of other people around the shop ribbed each other and pointed to him, whispering to one another, while all the young men were congregated in the same area as he was, laughing and talking.

She'd had no idea Ghost was ever this popular…

But just as she became accustomed to the ruckus, a banging—loud angry banging—filled the store, and the doorway, which was only sliding screen, trembled.

The crowd went silent, and there was a collective shudder.

Suddenly, as though at the lash of a whip, one of the young waitresses, dressed in a kimono and holding a food tray, hastily rushed and opened the door.

… Raven stared wide-eyed.

There, in the open doorway, stood a tall, imposing figure. Dressed from head-to-toe in traditional samurai armor, every last inch of which was jet-black with a reddish tint or sheen, and on the back of this armor was a flag-like banner, mounted to the figures back like one might see on paintings of samurai. The banner, too, was black… but with a Japanese Kanji symbol painted onto it in smeared red… which she was sure was paint, but still looked horridly like blood. The armored man, through which none of the face was visible due to his samurai helmet with a demon-like mask, held a long gray spear with a glinting silvery blade.

The girl, seemingly terrified out of her wits (as signified by the shaking tray) made a clumsy bow and whimpered a few things in what seemed to be an attempt at a courteous voice.

The dark figure didn't respond. Rather, he walked in straight away, knocking the poor girl to the ground as he passed, prompting several others to gasp and rush to help her up.

No-one seemed to raise a hand against him though…

He walked over to the main bar, where a short portly man with a ruddy face—presumably the owner by the way he had acted before this—stared at him wide-eyed.

With the same attempt at a respectful tone—which came out again as shaky fright—he greeted the armored figure, motioning to a small scroll on the wall with writing and figures; a menu perhaps…

… But he didn't seem interested in food.

A deep rumbling voice issued forth from the lifeless helmet, causing all present to jump in their seats. The dark figure spoke at length for some time, whatever he was saying seeming to inspire shock and terror and (though not obvious) outrage at his words.

… Without warning, he turned—and with a flick of his spear, one of the empty tables nearby was suddenly halved down the middle.

He turned and spoke in the same deep voice, inquiring something. The bar owner nodded frantically.

… And with that, the strange man left.

Raven peered out a nearby window, engrossed with curiosity. And her eyes almost bugged out at what she saw.

The armored man was not one-of-a-kind. There were at least a hundred.

An entire horde of strange, dark samurai, standing statue-like in formation, all with identical armor and spears. There, near the back of their ranks, some of the burlier ones were toting what looked like a platform on stilts, as people used to carry royalty or nobility upon.

And there, between black-silk sheets like a funeral veil… sat a man and a young woman.

The man was short and burly, but dressed from neck to feet in the same armour—except that it was red with black accents, as opposed to vice versa… this, and his banner was much larger, more pronounced. … And in stead of a spear, he carried with looked horridly like a massive two-handed katana with a blunt-tipped cleaver like blade. His face was pale, very pale, though not as much so as Zero… and his hair was black and greasy, slicked against his head into a thin ponytail.

The girl was somehow… attractive yet unnerving at the same time. Her skin was very fair and pale, with black hair that hung down VERY long into a wide sheet… and she possessed striking bluish eyes that seemed to contrast with her skin and jump out at you; they felt utterly piercing. Unlike the man, who held a angry smirk, she wore what looked like a solemn frown.

Once the lone soldier had stepped back into the ranks, they suddenly took off marching again without warning, stiff legged and holding their spears against their shoulders, off into the distance at surprising speed… and before too long, they were gone.

But… before they were out of sight… Raven noticed the girl's forlorn stare. She seemed to want to go back to the building, although perhaps not the same reason they'd come in the first place…

The place was suddenly abuzz with angry, but frightened, chatter. People were paying the workers, and getting up as though to leave; the employees were shutting the windows and putting everything away as though to call it a day.

The group of young men over in the corner, a bit calmer than the rest… collectively looked to one of their own.

He stood a bit taller than the rest with sandy brown hair and yellow eyes, with sharp features and a muscular frame. He was sitting next to Ghost…

He looked around, and made a 'follow' motion with his hands. They all complied, Ghost including… no one else, in their frantic state, seemed to notice. Raven followed as well…

They moved in a solemn huddle through the place, and eventually came to a large, ornate scroll hanging on the wall, purely for decoration—or so it seemed.

The 'leader', as Raven had mentally deemed the one who'd been with Ghost, pulled up one corner of the scroll…

… There were stairs in the wall.

Quickly, before anyone noticed, they filed down and were gone.

She followed, ducking through before the scroll rolled shut again.

… And she found herself staring at what might well have been a museum of primitive weaponry.

Shelf upon shelf upon shelf of steel katanas, countless racks of arrows and matching quivers with bows, large sacks in the corners brimming with axes and rows of spears and lances standing upon the wall; numerous maces in crates sat around the room, and what looked like chained-flails hung from the ceiling in neat rows.

All this had an appearance of impromptu, not really organized. The small cellar that they'd come to seemed to have been dug out in people's spare time…

The boys went silent, Ghost included, as the 'leader' got up in front of them on an overturned table, using it as an improvised podium.

For a long time, perhaps an hour, he raged in a speech of some sort, fiery and passionate, his listeners responding with yells and cheers. Raven could almost feel an electric crackle in the air.

But then, as all this ended, the memory began to swirl and fade out…

… She heard her name, vague and echoey, being called out over and over again…

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Ghost sighed with relief as Raven slowly opened her eyes, awake again…

… Only to gasp out loud when she suddenly seized him by the coat-collar and started shaking him.

"I don't believe you! How could you do that?" She demanded frantically, still shaking him.

"Wh-what? What did I do?" He asked, bewildered.

… Then it hit her. He remembered nothing…

Without warning, she slumped over onto his shoulder, tearful and looking on the brink of breakdown… Ghost felt moistness on his back.

Staring incredulously, he tilted her head up and met eyes with her. "… Raven… what's wrong? You just Finished crying… don't start again…" He pleaded. "… Whatever it is; whatever I've done, I'm sorry! Please… just don't cry."

She managed to calm herself. … She held out a shaky hand and cupped it against the side of his face, as though to make sure he was really there, really solid. … Upon confirming this, she latched herself silently around his neck, as though to prevent him from suddenly disappearing.

"… Please…" She said softly into his ear. "Promise me… promise me, you'll never… you'll never hurt yourself."

He blinked. "… _What_?"

"That you'll never do anything to hurt yourself." She repeated. "Never… never leave me."

He shook his head, looking aghast. "I… I don't understand."

"I know. But… Please…… Just promise…" She took in a deep breath to steady herself. "… Promise you won't leave. You won't leave me alone… I… I just found you. I don't want to lose you already."

He spent a few moments stunned at her words, before holding her tightly against his chest and nodding. "I swear… I swear it."

She relaxed somewhat… but his mind was not at ease.

"Raven… I don't understand what's wrong… but… you're scaring me." He said slowly. "If It's something I've done, I swear I'll—"

"No… No." She interrupted, kissing his cheek. "… I… was just frightened for a minute. That's all……" ... If he didn't know... it was probably better not to tell him...

They looked at one another; Raven was relieve that he was safe, unharmed, and in no risk of being hurt… Ghost was relieved that Raven was soothed at long last, finally happy after all that.

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"Smoke… where are we going…?" Blackfire said playfully. "And why do I have to close my eyes?"

"Because it ain't gonna be a surprise if you see it." He said simply.

Smoke was currently leading Blackfire down the hallway, making her to cover her as before he did so. He seemed quite pleased-with-himself, grinning and eagerly leading her onto what he had in store.

"How much farther is it?" She asked impatiently after a moment.

"Not much." He said. "Just down to the garage…"

Sure enough, they were there in a couple minutes.

And when he finally brought her before a small tarp in front of them, he bid her to open her eyes. "Ok… you can look now."

Her violet orbs opened hesitantly, but with eager anticipation—and at that exact moment, Smoke pulled away the cloth to reveal what he'd been meaning to give her.

Blackfire gasped out loud and stared. "… Oh… my… X'hal……"

There in front of her was quite possibly the shiniest motorcycle in existence. Covered over with polish and well washed, it absolutely shone. It was pure jet-black, but decorated with ornate purple flames all along the side, and designed in such a way that the exhaust pipes, rather than jutting up at an angle as usual, actually curled into a double-loop and formed an angular heart shape.

A booster on the back of the bike, along with a button on the handle seemed to indicate the presence of nitrous oxide (Just think of that as a turbo-boost, for those of you who aren't familiar with it) and her wheels, decked out in bright chrome spikes, showed clear signs of built-in hydraulics.

Blackfire swooned. "This is… mine?"

"It is now." Smoke chuckled.

Her face suddenly fell a bit. "But… Smoke, I… I don't know how to drive one of these."

"I know. … But I do." He said with a rather alarming grin.

… Blackfire stared for a moment, and then smiled devilishly.

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A shape, unknown to the Titans, slithered its way into the tower… making its way from the water into the pipes, from the pipes into the walls, from the walls into the rock, and so on…

A twisted, coiled body, massive and serpentine… had a firm grip around its prey—whom were totally oblivious even to its presence. All he need but do is give one squeeze… and it was on.

With a dark hiss, the creature almost seemed to gloat in its success and continued slithering on…

At this point, he was less-than-concerned about most of them. He was to take one alive. The rest…… It really didn't matter.

He breathed in… and he smelled blood. He opened his ears… and he heard blood. He opened his mouth… and he, so close it was agonizing, could almost taste blood…

Not too long now…

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_**WHEE! Finally done with that chapter, after a LONG time. Fluffy? Yes, I'll admit it… but I tried to do it as best as possible; what can I say? I'm a romance-buff at heart. Anyway, VERY close to updating Moonlight Maelstrom; was hit by a last-minute revelation and rushed back to change it a bit.**_

_**As always, any reviews I get are VERY appreciated… those things are what keep me going, along with sheer boredom. (S'not like I'm gonna be doing schoolwork or anything.)**_

_**Anyway… Read, and PLEASE review! **_


	25. Chapter TwentyOne

_Disclaimer_: _The Teen Titans aren't mine._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty-One_**

Jinx wasn't sure what was more frustrating as she walked into the quiet, dim chapel with her friends… The constant, under-the-breath grumbling of Gizmo (who'd been forced to wear a rather ring-bearer-like tux, along with his trademark goggles), the louder complaints of Mammoth (whom they'd had to get a tux custom made for out of a tent's worth of fabric), the abrupt—and somewhat scary—mood swings of Shimmer, from pissed to sobbing and back again… or finally, the pounding, dull ache in her own head.

After much careful persuasion, they'd convinced Shimmer it would be in the best respect to their parents to dress nicely; thus, the normally punkish looking girl was dressed in a dark violet backless dress, covering all but one or two tattoos.

Jinx, on the other hand, was wearing a slim-cut black dress with long sleeves and a skirt that reached to her ankles, concealing the fact that she (just like the other three, as a matter of fact) had her normal clothes on under the funeral-attire. After being as used to wearing one thing as they were, it would have felt strange NOT to have their usual stuff on, even if concealed.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the small, plain hallway of the chapel where the funeral was to be held. It didn't help Jinx's head in the least bit, though she tried to ignore it. For some reason, she just felt very awkward about this whole thing—it'd seemed like the proper thing to do at the time, but… what was everyone else going to think when they saw her and Gizmo, who weren't even related, or even friends with the deceased?

'You're a fine one to be thinking about what people are gonna think of you.' She snapped mentally; the headache even had her grumpy at herself, at this point.

"Is there gonna be food at this thing…?" Mammoth bent over and whispered to Gizmo, careful not to let Shimmer hear. "I'm starvin', here…"

"Only because you slept through breakfast." Gizmo said, shrugging. "I dunno if there's gonna be food or not…"

"It's still so hard to believe they're gone…" Shimmer said dully, thankfully not in a violent mood right now. Unfortunately, utter misery seemed to have taken the place of violence, leaving her an aching shell of her usual self. But considering her parents, whom she'd always been so fond of, had just died; one couldn't blame her.

"……" Mammoth hesitated to say anything, because his sister's volatile nature made even the most well-meaning statement liable to provoke a ranting tirade. After carefully considering his choice-of-words, he spoke up. "Well… they got a nice chapel, and the two of us comin' to see 'em. What more could we have given 'em?"

"Nothing, I guess…" Was Shimmer's dull reply. She suddenly turned her head to look at him with an eagle-eye. "Are you sure you're not hungry? You haven't eaten anything since last night!" She chided.

Mammoth groaned. Why did she have to bring up food…? Hungry as he was, though, the last thing she needed to worry about was him; she was under enough stress as it was. "Nah… I'm fine."

… The awkward silence was broken by a loud, gurgling rumble that reverberated like an earthquake out of Mammoth's gut, prompting a sweatdrop from Jinx and Gizmo, as well as an annoyed anime-vein from Shimmer.

"… Well… I thought I was." Mammoth grunted evasively.

"We'll get you something to eat after this is over with, I promise." Shimmer cooed, her mannerism abruptly changing from depressed to downright motherly when she patted Mammoth's gargantuan hand as though he were an overgrown toddler. He rolled his eyes but said nothing.

… They kept walking on, making their way through the quaint chapel… there was something chilling about its stained glass windows depicting scenes such as the manger, Moses and the ten commandments, among others… these pleasant little pictures, with their color and warmth, made a disturbing contrast with the dull gray bricks of the wall and the dour gargoyles and suits of armor arranged in rows, scowling and standing at attention rather unnervingly… all of these things, on top of the silence, made it just… downright creepy.

Jinx looked upon the armor suits, polished and, just by way of appearance, very cold… her headache began to deaden and fade a bit, much to her relief, and she found herself dwelling upon more pleasant things… other things that were armored and cold…

She sighed as she remembered Zero's rather forlorn look as he'd watched them take off… he had, of course, offered to come with her, but Jinx had insisted he stay, in case he was needed—and besides, she didn't think someone such as Sub-Zero would be much welcome at the funeral anyway. Still, she couldn't wait to see him again.

The door into the main altar of the church was neatly cleaned and shiny, though it still didn't detract from the overall detachedness of the place. Slowly, Jinx reached out and pushed it open—holding it open for the others as they went through.

… The entire room was empty. Not so much as a soul there, although… the two coffins, one black the other ivory and both sitting on the ground, made it clear that this was definitely the right place.

The sight of these caskets had a strange effect on Mammoth and, more notably, Shimmer.

Although Mammoth simply grunted and looked away as though interested in a nearby mosaic of the crucifixion on the wall, it was clear he was affected—even if only a bit—by the sight.

… Shimmer on the other hand stared blankly for a few moments… then, she stumbled forward and slowly got on her knees, putting her face in her hands quietly.

Jinx, hesitating a moment but deciding ultimately it was needed, walked over and knelt with Shimmer, putting a hand on the matter-transmuter's shoulder and patting it lightly.

Gizmo made his way over to Mammoth and started up a conversation concerning, not really anything in particular… it was more just to break the silence than anything.

Jinx, helping the distraught Shimmer over to a row of pew-benches, sighed. It seemed the only thing to do now… was wait for anyone else to get here.

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"… Hey Speedy…"

Snores.

"… Speedy…"

Loud snores.

"…. Dammit. SPEEDY!"

The sound of someone being kicked in the gut, followed by an 'oof!' and a body tumbling from a sofa.

Aqualad groaned in exhasperation when said archer scrambled to his feet in a stupor, looking positively drunken. "Huh… what… Where?"

"You've been asleep hours now. You have to wake up; we have to make a good impression on the applicants!" The teenaged Atlantean snapped.

Speedy blinked, yawning. "… Applicants…?"

Aqualad slapped his forehead.

"Bumblebee said the Job Interviews for Titans East were today. That means heroes interested in positions are gonna be coming—how many, I dunno, but ANY is enough reason for us to look and act our best!" He said vexedly. "… Didn't Bee tell you all this already?"

Speedy slicked back his hair and nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, yeah, I got it… look good. Behave. How hard can it be?"

Aqualad's eyebrow arched in a sharp angle. "… You Really want me to answer that?"

Suddenly, two squeaky voices in unison… "QUE PASA?"

Aqualad and Speedy jumped a collective five feet or so into the air with rather feminine squeals, right before slamming back down and staring bemusedly at the short Spanish teens before them.

"Mas… Menos… Don't sneak up on us like that…." Aqualad groaned, pulling himself up right.

"Yeah. You scared the crap out of us, you little Nimrods!" Speedy snarled.

Mas blew a loud raspberry, and shouted tantingly: "Que Lastima, Estupido!" And with a flash and a blur, he was gone. "Si! Que Lastima, Estupido!" Menos added, and with that he was gone.

Aqualad groaned and heaved himself upright. "I swear… short Hispanics with shorter attention spans…"

"Yeah, well… they're still smarter than you two, when you get down to it." Bumblebee, just coming into the room with an amused smirt, added.

Speedy rubbed his head, wondering vaguely if the two successive falls in the last few minutes were going to leave a bump. "Yeah, All right…" He said rolling his eyes. "… How many people are coming today?"

"Well… of all the invitations I sent out, there were five responses." She said thoughtfully. "None of them were signed though, so I'm not sure who to expect…"

A pause.

"……… Well…? What are you guys waiting for? We gotta get this place cleaned up before they get here!"

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The sudden, shrieking sound of rubber against floor signified that a pair of wheels had been kicked into sudden motion in the garage of Titans Tower. Even as far off as several floors up, one could clearly smell the distinct fragrance of engine oil and gasoline exhaust, though they put it off to Smoke practicing with his self-styled, "chainsaw-Fu".

… In reality, the souped up Motorcycle Smoke had so thoughtfully (and yet, so ludicrously) given to Blackfire as a present, was now careening headlong across the expanse of the garage, spitting out puffs of exhaust and leaving a black streak of speed-burn across the metal floor, though it faded shortly after the super-heated tires left its surface, resulting in a trail not unlike a slug would leave—though much faster, however.

Blackfire was, although an adrenaline junkie and more-than-used to high speeds due to past experience with both spaceships and her own flights, very unnerved by this wacky joyride, especially whenever Smoke—whom she was clinging onto for dear life—would laugh and rev up the motor before taking a sharp turn.

"Hang on; we're gonna do a wheelie!" He shouted over the din of the thundering engine to the clinging alien behind him.

She blinked and yelled back, trying her best not to allow the noise of the machine to deafen her. "A what?"

"A wheelie!" He repeatedly loudly so as to be clearly heard this time. "We're gonna go up on one wheel!"

… She took a split second to process what he'd just said, and her eyes bugged out. But before she could protest, she suddenly found herself squealing most uncharacteristically as he gave a swift tug and leaned them back, so that her long sheet of hair fanned out behind them and almost touched the ground.

"Smo-_OOOOOOOOKE_!" She screamed, holding on tightly. She looked down out of the corner of her eye and could literally see colored sparks shooting off behind them as the metal tip of the wheel-covering lightly brushed the ground below them. It was both beautifully alarming and alarmingly beautiful.

"**_YEEEEEEEEEH_**-**_HAAAAAAAAAAAW_**! _Heheheheheheheh_!" Smoke, however, was much less stressed by the maneuver than his alien paramour, and noticeably so. "Aw, come on Baby! Just lighten up! It's ain't no worse than a roller-coaster!"

She rolled her eyes. "Smoke… for X'hal's sake, people DIE on roller coasters!"

"Eh… Nobody's perfect!" Smoke shouted back cheerfully, stomping the pedal again and bringing them back on two wheels as they hit 100 Miles-per-Hour.

She was relieved—for about three seconds. Because just as they hit both Wheels to the ground, he leaned forward and brought it up one again—the FRONT one this time.

"What about it? Think you can get the hang of one of these?" He called over the shoulder to her as they rolled along on the front end.

Blackfire, rapidly becoming used to the ride, nodded. "Sure… I might know better if someone would let me TRY." She pouted playfully.

"Hahah… Sure. But one thing first—I'm gonna freak Cy out a little bit. At least I would if he were here…" He turned his head to look at a wooden beam that happened to be propped against the front hood of the T-Car… and jerked the bike, hauling ass towards the makeshift ramp at top speed—that is, 130 MpH this time.

Blackfire braced herself, grabbing hold to Smoke's black-leather biker jacket and digging in with her nails, holding tightly there.

**BAM**!

The bike jerked itself upwards at a sharpened angle as it hit the ramp, eventually tilting skywards and flying off into the air precariously as it made a wide, sweeping arc over the T-Car; the vehicle's weight caused a deep humming sound in the air as it whipped about in chaotic flight…

…For a brief moment, time itself seemed to slow to a crawl, life playing out in slow-motion, preserving the saucer-wide eyes and wide-open mouth of Blackfire, and the triumphant smirk plastered upon Smoke's visage…

… Then, with a metal crash, it hit the ground perfectly on both Wheels and kept going as though absolutely nothing at all had even happened.

The bike came screeching to a halt, not damaged a bit by its wild antics and still glittering in all its glory even as steam wafted from its tires and the smell of exhaust clogged the air.

"So… where are we gonna take this thing?" Blackfire asked. "… For me to learn to drive it?"

Smoke cocked his head and grinned, saying in mock confusion: "… Take it? … The hallways'll do just fine, thank you."

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Cyborg moved the tool he held with such grace, such carefully-calculated knowledge, and such fearful caution, that the expression upon his sweaty brow must've closely resembled that of Michealangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His brows knit with concentration, his metal hand devoid of the slightest shake, he gripped his tool tightly with all the seriousness an artist might grip a brush or as a sculptor might grip a chisel.

… Where is the fine line between a practical invention and a work of art? … By what means can man take a stone, a bottle of paint, or a slab of metal, and imbue it with the spark that would make it something more—something its own? Cyborg, for the last several weeks, had striven to find the answers.

It had all started out simply, with the most mundane of causes and the most innocuous of places. Cyborg, being the slightly Obsessive-compulsive neat-freak that he was, had come into Beast Boy's room to challenge his small green friend to a friendly bout of video games. While in there, he noticed the particularly sloppy mess present in B.B.'s room. He started to comment upon it, but decided not to; B.B. was an animal of habit, quite literally, and Cy knew he'd never clean it.

As the day had progressed, he couldn't stop himself. Everywhere he went, he saw something out of its place, some stain upon a wall or floor, some tiny flaw in an otherwise beautiful spot. And he began pondering someway to correct this without having to resort to more menial labor for anyone.

… For a while he'd tinkered with various ideas, all of which quite ingenious and unique in their own right. Mechanized brooms… self-propelled vacuums… auto-sorting laundry baskets… he'd done it all; it had been successful, as well. However, the novelty of these things faded very quickly, invariably leading him to pursue something more efficient to the task.

Flipping through a book of artwork—more specifically, classical paintings and portraits—that had belonged to Raven was what eventually provided the answer. … There, on a random page he didn't even remember, had been a full portrait of a young cleaning lady, clad in the traditional black-and-white French-Maid attire, dusting off the mantle of a grand old fireplace with a feather duster.

… Inspiration strikes from unexpected places, and one idea leads to another. He realized with a sudden jolt that a maid would solve all their problems, and they were readily affordable. But…

… It was too easy. Picking up the phone and dialing a maid-service… there was no challenge in that; besides, this was a problem Cy had taken upon himself to solve. So… why waste money on what you can make?

… He had gotten caught up in this project, just like all his others, before he even realized what he was doing. The materials practically seemed to take care of themselves; indeed, he didn't even remember where he had gotten half of the things used, too consumed in his fervor to notice or give concern.

And now, the final product, agonizingly close to completion—and yet so lacking and needing to be finished with the last, key components—stood, not sat or laid but stood, before him in all its technological, as well as artistic achievement.

… There stood in front of him, a construction of reinforced steels, depleted uranium, and various trace-metals, along with the best-quality wiring, circuitry and advanced software money could buy, filled to the brim with an astounding number of devices that a layman might simply refer to as 'lights and clockwork'—all encased in a frame just barely hitting the five feet tall level.

… One would have never known that so much as an ounce of metal had gone into its construction. The practical, more scientific view just presented contrasts sharply with the artistic, plain view the eye might give of Cyborg's newest creation.

There stood a small girl, upright at an at-attention position with eyes closed and a faint smile spread across her face. Dark skin, the rich and shadowy tones of which one might see in a person of Arabian descent, clashed with a strangely surreal strawberry-cream colored hair—that is to say, whitish with a soft pinkish-red tint—decorated her small frame, her hair gathered into two long ponytails straight down her back. She wore bright blue robes in watery tones and hues, with similar colors such as greens, teals, etc. acting as trim and adornment; her youthful face showed a teenaged visage.

The robes, rather like a priestess or sorceress, were not the traditional baggy and puffed-out styles one usually sees; rather, they were small and clingy, almost skintight, and they gave a definite impression of her small sleek shapeliness and stunningly flawless proportions. They reached down to her ankles, where they stopped in a lacy trim. Her dainty feet, still as darkly tanned as the rest of her, wore small simple sandals that seemed to glimmer like gold, along with thick white socks.

… In short, the object before him was either a girl or a machine; it was indecisive either way. However, as far as this story is concerned the word 'she' shall be used as opposed to 'it' from this point on; such was the amazing life that had been breathed into her appearance.

So close… yet so far. She'd keep the tower clean; this Cyborg knew for a fact. She would perform her intended function perfectly; there was no doubt whatsoever. But… during the course of her design, Cyborg had inevitably begun to wonder… if she could be made to be, for all intents and purposes…

… Real.

Could she be made to _live_?

He drew in a deep breath and wiped his half-metal brow. It was almost time to find out…

…

…

…

…

"_There have always been ghosts in the machine - random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will. Creativity. And even the nature of what we might call the soul. _

Why is it that when some robots are left in darkness, they will seek out the light? Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will group together, rather than stand alone? How do we explain this behavior? Random segments of code? Or is it something more?

When does a perceptual schematic become consciousness? When does a difference engine become the search for truth? When does a personality simulation become the bitter mote of a soul? "

**--Dr. Alfred Lanning; 'I, Robot'**

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Ghost sat slumped over sleepily onto Raven's shoulder, staring at the array of little letters before him. What was of more interest, however, was the pictures. Seeing as how she was going to be reading to him, she chose a bit of the book that was illustrated as well as written… between what Raven read aloud and the black-and-white drawings, he gleaned all he needed to know.

"And so, the sculptor Pygmalion, the finest in all of Ancient Greece, was destined to fall in love with the beautiful feminine statue of ivory that he had created…" Raven's voice, lulling and gentle, read aloud with surprising feeling. "…She looked such like a real girl, that he was helpless with lovesickness. He brought her gifts of food, clothing, jewels, and made several times as if to caress her, but alas, she remained cold and still. The goddess of Love, Aphrodite, saw his suffering and took pity. She brought the statue to life, and the two were wed soon after…"

Ghost sighed. "… Such a strange story. But… so romantic, nevertheless."

Raven nodded. "It is. But then, so many of the Greek myths are strange… this one seems normal compared to some of the others."

"I see…" He said slowly. "…… It must have been all the wine they drank…"

"Maybe." Raven said with a smile and something akin to a small laugh. "… Or then, maybe they weren't strange; maybe they were just… different."

For a brief moment, their eyes met, the two pairs of orbs (or one-and-a-half, depending on how you look at it) locking onto each other without so much as a blink. Slowly, very hesitantly, their faces began moving ever-so-subtly towards one another, eyes closing…

… Abruptly, there was a sudden rumbling noise, coming from somewhere below them, the shaking of a thousand rattles or the banging of a thousand drums. The very room itself, possibly even the whole of the entire Tower trembled upon the Earth it was rooted in.

And just as their eyes opened with surprise, it happened.

It was like a flash. Raven saw nothing but a sudden outburst of fragments and debris that blew her back with a cry, the floor exploding into an opening and something shooting out in a titanic arc, and one blurred flash of dark blackish-green scales. When she moaned, pulling herself up…

… Ghost was gone. There was a large hole torn in the floor where he'd been sitting.

She screamed and scrambled forward, peering down…

… Something had torn through several floors, so far that you could see a pool of water far down below like a pinprick… though, in reality, it was a flooded underground cavern of some sort… presumably where the waters surrounding the Tower flowed into a natural cave-system down there… but at the moment, none of this was of particular concern to Raven.

"What? … _Ghost_!" … No answer. "… **_GHOST_**!"

… A reply this time, but not human.

…… From somewhere below, a grotesque, animalistic noise… a snarling, hissing, low growl that gurgled and wheezed, echoing up through the 'tunnel'… it was rather similar to the roar of the lion, spliced with some sort of shark or whale's gurgle… it sent chills up her back.

… Abruptly, a blast of water spurted upwards with a sickening belch, a wretching hacking gag as though from something's mouth, and she was knocked backwards by the force, as though hit by a geyser.

… And along with it, Ghost was spit up into the room looking slightly stunned, but otherwise unharmed.

… The room itself began to shake, things falling from the walls and dust shaken from the ceiling in low clouds… powerful roars again echoed from the abyss below as Raven stumbled over to Ghost, who sat up with a groan.

"Ghost! Oh God… Ghost!" She sat down next to him, helping him up. "Are you all right? What WAS That?"

"Something… grabbed me. Pulled me down into that hole, spit me back up…" He groaned, even as the said 'something snarled and screeched louder.

Abruptly, a shape, pushing up part of the floor along with it, slithered through the gaping hole.

… It was a monstrous serpent, bubbles and steam wafting from its huge slit-like nostrils and red eyes blazing like fiery cannonballs in gaunt sockets. It's head, even though scaly and obviously reptilian, had the shape and jaw structure one might liken to a wild hound or large dog—a snout with deep jaws lined with fangs and teeth… the body snaked outwards, covered in slick black-green scales that dripped with water and seemed to glimmer for no real reason.

"Oh… _Azar_…" Raven stammered softly, pulling herself back—Ghost doing likewise, but too scared to say anything at all, though he spread his wings as though to shield her.

… As if to respond, the creatures hissed in a guttural tone, gurgling and spitting bubbles again… and spread wings of its own, stretching out from its very skin—sickly pale greenish wings, lined with bones and toxic looking barbs, striped through-and-through with veins and silver rings. They extended so far as to touch both ends of the room as its seemingly boneless body stretched and slithered and crawled closer, and closer, eyes burning with evil hatred.

The fierce red orbs of its eyes seemed to have a mind-numbing quality… the two demons sat quivering on the floor, virtually paralyzed with fear and not able to move; they were locked in some morbid trance.

The huge pierced and scaly wings flapped violently, knocking over several things in the room and pushing them back a bit… They clung to each other, not able to move as the creature opened its mouth—revealing row behind row upon row next to row of jagged, crooked, razor sharp shark-like fangs, all yellowed with age, stained with blood, dripping with deadly venoms and toxins…

The mouth opened up, clicking and snapping hideously as it unhinged and stretched, coming to a size that could swallow a small boat whole; its nose scraped the ceiling and its chin dragged the floor… it slunk closer to them, both of them struggling to move, to cry out, to do anything, but… unable; they were cursed with some disabling power, the wicked stare of the beast.

…. A blur of red, gold, and green; a metallic clang; an anguished screech and a yell of human rage. And within moments, the creature had squirmed back below into its domain, disappearing completely from view.

As Raven and Ghost sat up, groaning and feeling a sudden sensation of freedom—as though they'd just been released from a tight grip—they looked over to see what had driven off the sea monster that had so suddenly attacked them.

Robin stood there with his staff, looking down the hole. Upon seeing them get up, he rushed over to them and asked, "Raven… Ghost! What was that thing? Are you all right?"

Raven hesitated for a moment, and put a hand on Ghost's shoulder. "Yeah… I think…… we're fine…"

Ghost was pale and shaky, badly startled by the happenings; even more so than the other two in the room. He took a couple of deep breaths and nodded weakly. "… That thing… the way it was… glaring at us, we couldn't even move; it was like its eyes… were paralyzing."

Robin's gaze softened. "… Are you sure the two of you are ok? Between the way the others were earlier, now this…"

A shrill roar like a wild animal echoed from deep below.

"… We have to go warn the others." Robin said, sighing grimly. "I don't know what this thing is, but… it could be back at any time."

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_**Man, it's been a while since I updated huh? Hopefully I'll get to update again this weekend. I can't wait to finish this fic and start on the next; it's got me pumped.**_

_**So finally, we know what Cyborg's been working on, Leviathan—the second of Trigon's big three archfiends—has made his appearance, and Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, and Shimmer are in a tough situation—if only they knew what was in store!**_

_**Anyway… If you liked the chapter, PLEASE review. I love to get reviews, and they're really the lifeblood that keeps many authors going. On that note, I'd like to thank anyone that's ever reviewed the fic in the past, including:**_

_**Metal Overlord 2.0—an excellent author and even better friend…**_

_**Chromedragozoid—whom I regret I have minimal time to read his long and epic fic in…**_

_**Hotshot 45—whose name I apologize for misspelling the last time I mentioned him…**_

_**Twilight Soul Taker, who harasses me until I update and provides a wondrous source of inspiration…**_

_**Gan-Chan who supports my endeavors and helps me with ideas…**_

_**Meiriona—whose fics provide an excellent source of ideas for the character of Jinx, who is admittedly tough to write…**_

_**Blackmage77—who's been reading my stuff for a long time now…**_

_**Adaiakrow, who inevitably comes up with the greatest scene concepts and character ideas…**_

_**Rakhan, who's read and supported my fics for a long time as well…**_

_**Von Rhettenstein who gives lots of praise to my fics and is a moral booster of the highest degree…**_

_**Suicide Buddha, who is a great supporter of my fics…**_

_**Storm-of-Rage, who is very encouraging and heartening in his reviews, and finally…**_

… _**Anyone else who has ever read so much as a word of this fic. Without readers, even the greatest writer would be nothing at all.**_

**_I look forward to updating again soon, and—as always—read and review! _**

**_ ---Count-Le-Madphantom…_**


	26. Chapter Twenty Two, Part One

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine._

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty-Two (Part One)_**

Not really sure why I came in here, to be honest. I'd prefer a cigar to a beer any day, but then… I guess I didn't really come here for a beer.

One might ask, with valid reason, why on Earth, then, I was in a bar. No, no… it wasn't to replenish my supply of smokes; I had a pocketful already. And no, I certainly didn't come looking for, eh… company of a more feminine nature, as some do. Again, the cigarettes are better company—far more satisfying and far less noisy and greedy.

No… I was here purely for informative purposes. Doing a little 'digging' as one might say. After all, what more satisfying cliché is there than a handsome devil (in a rather literal sense, mind you) walking into a bar to interrogate the barkeep.

… Ah, but you don't know about that. That would be why I'm wearing a rather long brown coat at the moment. Not much of a fashion statement, I assure you; I'd much prefer my black clothes any day. But this duster is the only garment I've got suitable for concealing my… ah… uniqueness, I suppose is the word.

After all, you don't see a red guy walk into a bar every day. It sounds like the beginning of a horrid joke containing far too many four-letter words…

At any rate… I made my way up to the bar, whilst simultaneously reaching into the left pocket on the lower left thigh of the brown duster coat… I carefully removed a piece of crumpled paper and unfolded it.

It was a newspaper article, very small and barely an eighth of a page, that I'd taken from the local papers recently… in the classifieds section… it read in bold print. '**HEROES NEEDED**. Any shape, size, race, gender, talents should apply… Free room and board, three meals a day, and (Hang onto your hats, Folks) Excellent pay. See staff at Titans-East Tower in Steel City.'

… They had me from the word 'pay.'

I approached the barkeep… and said in the silkiest, most polite tone I could muster—trying in vain to suppress my slightly Spanish accent. "Hello… Sorry to interrupt, but… would you happen to have any idea how to get to Steel City?"

The barkeep—a large pudgy man with a stubby black mustache and a stained apron—fixed a curious eye (one of them having a patch over it) at me as I sat down on a stool and made myself comfortable.

"… Depends. Who's lookin' to know?" The large man rumbled. His tone was not one of aggressive anger, or one looking for a fight. Rather, I suspect this was his usual answer to questions; simply his nature.

Rather than go into formalities (Señor in question did not strike me as an intellectual, anyway.) I simply slapped the newspaper ad onto the bar. As he stared at it, poring over the contents absentmindedly, I took the lightly-steaming cigarette from my mouth and gently snuffed it on the paper, creating a few sparks.

"I'm looking… for the Titans East Tower." I said again. "I need directions…" And then, just for a bit of motivation, I dropped a few large silver coins onto the bar with a metallic clink.

A moment of silence, then….

"I'll have a look in the storage room. Pretty sure I got a map back there. Let you have it, if ya like… ain't usin' it, m'self…" The barkeep said gruffly, before walking off.

Content, I sat back to wait, removing a kiseru from my coat. A kiseru, for those of you not familiar with the fine art of tobacco, is a fine, ornate style of Asian—specifically Japanese—smoking pipe that, due to its large size and heavy wait, also makes a formidable weapon.

… If it smokes _and_ kills, it's a winner.

Taking out my cheap tin lighter, and getting it to spark to light the pipe, I never noticed a faithful neon-pink limousine that was as long as three hummers back to back pulling up outside the bar…

… Not paying much attention to the aforementioned automobile, I sat and muttered under my breath as I tried in vain to get the lighter to actually… (le gasp)… light. It sparked and sputtered; it smoked and spat, but never actually produced a good flame. But then again, that's what I get for buying a used ten-cent tin lighter.

Finally, I simply gave up and took the pipe out of my mouth to examine it. A long, nearly three-foot pipe, with an ebony bowl at the far end, and a matching ebony mouthpiece… had a shaft of bamboo in the middle, decorated with small gems of ruby and obsidian. Quite ornate, but… quite functional as well, as I can personally attest.

I rummaged around for some matches… not noticing the door slamming open and the sound of heeled shoes stamping and click-clicking into the bar…

"Stupid… Fang…. Stupid… boys… stupid… stupid, stupid, STUPID!" Someone with a very silky feminine voice was murmuring harshly and in a rather disconcerted tone. "Can't believe… that jerk… that… that… GRR! He ditched me… son of…" And various similar mutterings.

…. Hey, I found a match…

As I lit said combustible device, and used it to gently light the bowl of my pipe, I felt a presence a few feet to my left. I looked over.

A girl with long, straight blonde hair that was almost canary yellow in color, was seated next to me. I could tell from a glance she had a rather… curvaceous figure, despite the fact one could hardly tell from the baggy pink dress she wore, with matching pink headband on her hair and a pair of pink heels.

… So much… damned pink… but ah well, to each his own… or… her own…

… It lit. Finally.

"ARRGH! That…" The girl hurled a random bottle at the wall, shattering into noisy showers of glass shards. "… Lazy…" Another. "Good for nothing…" Three more… "… PIG!" A handful.

One zoomed through the air towards me, about to shatter on my skull. I nonchalantly reached up and tapped it in midair with the bowl of my pipe; it shattered effortlessly, leaving me unscathed.

I put the pipe back in my mouth, sighing and inhaling in a few deliciously toxic tobacco fumes as I listened to the rather distraught young lady a few feet away… as I sat deadpan and stoic with my head on my arm on the bar, calmly brushing the glass shards off my coat.

… I wondered vaguely why no one'd had Señorita pitched out yet... until I realized, with a sudden whoosh of clarity, that it was only us two there.

… The rest of the building was empty, save for the absent barkeep.

It seemed that the chica, whoever she was, must have been running out of steam, because her head flopped tiredly onto the bar and her vehement muttering became whiny sobs.

… Had I not been so distracted at the time, I might have felt sorry for the poor thing, but…

… This was really good tobacco, after all.

But alas, smoke can only keep one's mind occupied for so long before it begins to wander. And this eventually happened to even me… thus, I was drawn, as if by an unseen force, to gaze at the somewhat miserable girl nearby.

… Realizing neither of us had so much as acknowledged the other's presence, I suddenly felt the awkward urge to say… something… just to break the silence, which was even worse for being dotted with whines and sniffles from the corner.

"… Uh…" A beat, and I, with a shrug, said the first thing to come to my mind. "… Come here often?"

… Felicitaciones, Idiota… Well done, Moron…

I sat bemused and allowed a few wisps of blackened smoke waft from between my fangs, floating lazily upwards as I arched a curious eyebrow at the girl before me.

She sat up at my words and fixed me with a look that was part curiosity, part revulsion.

"… Who are you?" She spat out the word 'you' with something… akin to innocent curiosity, but tinged with just a slight bit of stinging tone.

Deciding, I should have kept quiet in the first place, I got up to leave. "Nobody. Probably just a figment of your distraught psyche. Adios…" And with that, I started to leave… I suddenly had a feeling that no map could be worth staying in a room with this girl… even though I didn't know her; it was just… a gut instinct.

… Blast it; I never noticed the edge of my coat was caught on the barstool.

…

… _RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP_!

"….? …. !"

I turned… and saw she was suddenly looking at me like she'd seen a ghost; I could almost hear the squeal coming before it happened. I looked down at myself…

The coat was torn off, leaving me in my black clothes; a pair of sweatpants and a baggy button-up shirt with red patterns along the collar… but… absolutely nothing to disguise my bright fire-red skin, and claw-like white nails… nor the triangle-tipped prehensile tail that was protruding from the back pocket of my pants…

My mop of shaggy gray hair spilled down my back, just barely concealing a pair of tiny, sharp horns upon my red forehead… my eyes, totally normal except for the fact that they were yellowish and slightly luminous, blazed with recognition.

I acted on instinct. In that split second I saw her mouth widening in a scream, I lunged and clapped both hands around her mouth, knocking her to the ground in the process. Then, seeing that the immediate threat had been averted, looked around to make sure the building was still empty… thankfully it was; no one had seen.

She wriggled and screamed muffeldy even as I assured her that I wasn't going to eat her, and helped her to her feet—I was careful to keep a hand around her mouth.

"Look, if you'd just calm do—" She kicked my shin. "ARRGH!" I let go.

"_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK_!"

… The world's record for longest, loudest sustained scream goes to whatsername.

The barkeep, for a split second, rushed into the room holding a busted bottle. I turned and faced him, eyes sizzling. He turned and ran back in, closing the door and locking it.

… You'd think they've never seen a red guy before.

… Wait…

Crap.

My train of thought got derailed abruptly as the girl suddenly began hurling bottles at me like Chuck Norris on crack. They shattered harmlessly, albeit painfully, against my back.

"OW!… Ow… ow, Ow! What the…? OUCH! ARE YOU LOCO? ARRGH!"

Getting a bit vexed, I took a deep puff on my pipe…

… And spat out a large fireball, hurtling at the stack of bottles she was throwing from at collision-speed.

… I realized a bit too late that alcohol explodes…

**_BLAM! _**We went flying…

A moment later, and I suddenly realized I was in a very awkward position… and unable to sit up due to the fact that my legs were pinned down by her head and her legs were tangled around my neck, giving me a rather… awkwardly-angled view of her skirt.

"Look… Señorita… the attraction is understandable; you wouldn't be the first, and this is a very nice view… but I've got places to go and things to do, so If you wouldn't mind…" I dumped her over on her back and sat up, trying to clear my head of what I'd just seen.

I started walking off again, only to get tackled to the ground with the sensation of nails in my back.

"YOU PIG!"

… _Oy vey_…

It took me a moment to compose myself enough to toss her off. But even then, I couldn't get away… as I got up, I tripped over her flailing form, and fell with a twist through the air towards her.

… Thankfully cushioned by a pair of shock absorbers face first, if you catch my drift, though this only seemed to make her even angrier. Me and my luck…

Figuring this was getting very ugly very quickly; I decided to nip the situation in the bud. I leapt to my feet and drew my pipe, brandishing it as though it were a sword—thanks to its weight, it might as well have been.

"Look… very sorry about all that, but I really must be going. I'd love to stay and chat, but… Well, I'd say in the past five minutes we've already gone well past that level, don't you think?" And I turned to dash out.

… I slammed into the doors, but they remained immobile. In my dazed state, I saw a fading label: 'These auto doors lock magnetically after hours to prevent theft and/or vandalism. Unlocks automatically when hours begin the next day.'

… The barkeep was long gone, judging from the look he'd had when I'd seen him last… and he'd locked the back door as well.

… Well… Chicita and I were going nowhere at the moment. I sat down and started fumbling for my lighter…

"… You have excellent taste in lingerie, by the way…" Was the only remark I could come up with as I lit the pipe again.

… A long pause.

"… Well?"

"… Well what?" I answered honestly. Couldn't she ever be quiet? You'd think having yourself in a rather compromising position twice in the last short few minutes would humble a person.

"… Who ARE you? And… WHAT are you? … Why are you still here?"

I sighed. "The name's Voltaire Gonzales Lutero Rodriguez. Or just Voltaire, if you like… and I am… in need of a good smoke… I'm still here because… I can't leave. And neither can you, so… I'd suggest you be looking for a good spot to bed down for the night."

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how many minutes she spent running around the building like a flaming field-mouse, yanking at various doors and windows to get one to open… all to no avail. We were, as I had said, quite stuck.

She had, at least, seemed to realize that I was not particularly keen to eat, maul, maim, ravage, rape, deflower, or otherwise screw her up and that I was, at the moment, dangerous only to anything that came between me and a cigar or pipe.

"… We're…. Trapped…"

"… Very good. You can be taught."

"…… What are we going to do?"

I grabbed a bottle off the bar and tossed it to her. "Knock yourself out." I said, deadpan.

"… You're a jerk."

"… You're a very intelligent young woman. Most people don't realize this until I've robbed them blind."

"You slimy son of a—"

"Ah, ah ah… language." I pointed upwards with a rather bemused expression, changed little from before. "You never know who's listening."

She sat down in a far corner, still glaring at me, muttering under her breath. I figured I may as well TRY to undo what damage I'd done.

"… Right… so… sorry about earlier. But I had to stop you from screaming, and… well, one thing dominoed into another… and here we are."

She narrowed her bright blue eyes. "…… What… Are you?"

"You've… already asked me that."

"No! I mean… why are you….."

"… Red? Can't say, honestly. Never met the parents; although… I've been told my mother was a rather cooky old hag in a cloak. Left me laying out in a desert in Mexico, of all places… thank God somebody happened to find me… and NOT throw me in the Rio Grande…"

"… And you're… not going to hurt me…"

"…… I wasn't planning on it; no…"

"……"

Well, you have to admit. This is hardly the most ideal situation for meaningful conversation. However, the laws of the rogue prevent me from remaining silent. After all… I'm a guy… she's a girl, very attractive at that (if a little slow and mean tempered)… and we're in a bar.

"So, uh… Any ideas on how to get out of here…?"

Her sapphire-blue eyes narrowed, and her blonde brows arched. "If I had any, do you think I'd be here."

"… Just thought I'd ask…"

Another pause, and I managed to light my pipe, taking in a few long breaths and sighing contentedly. Another thought, about what she'd been muttering earlier…

"… Who's Fang? Just out of curiosity…" I asked quickly, blowing out a few smoke rings from my lips.

She suddenly scrunched her nose, flared her nostrils and glared angrily. With a scowl that would freeze beer, she pulled a small pink (Fuzzy pink) photo-wallet out of her dress and tossed it to me. I caught it, and I opened it up slowly.

Inside were several pictures of her and…

… Jesus Christ…

"… Right… Probably shouldn't have asked…" I said, tossing it back.

"He's my boyfriend… or WAS my boyfriend." She snarled, pouting. "… Ran off with some skanky girl! Can you believe it? That jerk! And he took my money too, and left me nothing but the car in the middle of a date, and—"

Hay Caramaba. I SHOULDN'T have asked… this could go on forever…

I decided to cut her off before she really got going. "Sorry to hear that."

She stopped abruptly midsentence and continued sulking, giving me a strange look.

"… I, uh… didn't believe I caught your name…?" I ventured cautiously after a moment.

She gave me a withering scowl and snapped, "Why?", impatiently.

"Well, it would be, ah… pretty damn awkward…" I sighed. "… To spend the next…" I checked my pocket watch. "Fourteen hours, and thirty nine seconds… with someone whose name I don't even know."

"……." A pause. "…. Kitten…" She finally relented.

I instantly remembered the nail marks on my back. "… I see… fitting…"

Her eyes lit up abruptly and she made something akin to a purr, getting an anime-like cat-grin on her face. "Aww… I am that cute, aren't I?"

I sweatdropped. "… Uh… sure…"

We sat in silence for several minutes, until she suddenly walked over, unnoticed by me. I didn't realize her presence… until she began tugging suddenly on my tail.

"Ow! Hey! What the--?"

"Is this thing real…?" She asked doubtfully.

I snapped it out of her hands, and it hissed and shuddered at her like a rattler's tail. "Well, it's not prosthetic. What you see is what you get…" I said, slightly annoyed, but a little amused at her curiosity.

And my consternation was only added to when she suddenly started fondling my small forehead horns, giggling. "Cuuuuute…" I wasn't really sure whether to be complimented or revolted.

In any case, I just sat and sighed, puffing out a few more clouds of smoke.

We sat silently for about an hour or so, the situation far too awkward for words at this point. The only conversation lay in the fact that I mentioned I was heading for Steel City, for reason of a well-paying job opportunity. When she asked what sort of work I did, well… I told the truth.

I am, you see, a wanderer by trade. One might ask what a 'wanderer' is. Well, quite simply, they… wander. And get money, food, and shelter however they can; legal or not. I liked to fancy myself as a dashing, pipe-wielding rogue… albeit one with a distinct excess of personality…

… At about midnight, she said she was getting hungry… and went off to search for the kitchens; the bar was also a restaurant, you see… so logically, there had to be food somewhere. I, not thinking much of it, simply nodded and warned her not to eat anything canned with no label on it…

… She gave me a strange look, and I simply explained I'd had bad experiences in small roadhouse diners.

…

…………

… It was only about thirty minutes later, I heard a muffled yelp coming from the kitchens. I groaned. What now…?

I walked in…

… And stared bemusedly as Kitten bunched herself up on top of a tall stool as a small bug crawled harmlessly along the floor below; she held a water hose from a nearby sink as though to spray it away.

"Ewewewew! Get it AWAY!" She screeched. "So nasty!"

I gently tapped the small creature away with the tip of my black shoe, and it scuttled off.

She huffed. "… My daddy used to keep buggies… but not little slimy roaches like that… I can't stand those…"

I shrugged. "Did you find anything to eat?"

"I'll… keep looking…" She said… although I chuckled under my breath to see that she'd managed to tangle the water hose around herself. She might be there a while.

I turned with a nod and started to walk back out, as I heard her making her way off the stool…

… But a moment later, there was a clashing sound of wood tumbling against the ground, the hiss of cord going taut, and a loud gasp. I turned… and the pipe fell out of my mouth with a clatter.

She'd tripped off the stool, with the cord tangled around her, and it seemed to have her in a stranglehold by the neck. She thrashed around, her face abruptly becoming bluish.

Without thinking, I dashed forward.

I reached to undo it from her neck, but had trouble getting hold for her panicked thrashing.

"Calm down! Calm down! Be still…" I urged, and finally, I managed to calm her enough to get a firm hold on the cord… rather than try to pull it off (and, thus, tighten it even more) I removed a small knife from the cooking shelf and sliced the cord in two. She stumbled forward with a gasp, and I caught her.

… Leaving us in yet another awkward position.

"Do you have near-death experiences on a regular basis?" I snapped gruffly, sitting her down on the floor.

She said nothing, just taking in deep breaths and rubbing her somewhat reddened neck. I felt a little guilty for that last statement.

"Uh… sorry… but seriously, are you Ok?"

"… Fine…" She said slowly, not meeting my eyes.

There was a sudden, uncomfortable silence.

"Thank you…" She said suddenly.

"… No problem… let's… find some food…"

As it turned out, I was able to find some canned ravioli. I made sure to check the expiration date and, seeing it was still good, searched out a can opener and took it to the microwave.

"It'll be a minute…" I said. "Then… Dunno. I guess we can get something to eat and try to get some sleep."

"Sleep?" Kitten asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well… what else are we going to do? If nothing else, it'll help pass time…" I explained, pouring the stuff out of the opened can into a large bowl, and putting it in the microwave. Pressing the button to turn it on, I added: "It's not like we're going to sit around and play monopoly…"

* * *

Arella, a tale pale woman with short violet hair, shivered slightly as she felt the small white doves pecking softly at the seeds she held in her palm. Brushing a strand of hair from her face and pulling her white cloak farther around herself, she was careful not to scare the little birds off as they gathered to eat from her hand.

… The dark stone room around her, reminiscent of some sort of monastery, was opened only by a large balcony along the back wall, out into the night air… it was from here, the doves—her only companions sans the other inhabitants (the monks that had taken her in)—flew in…

Her mind, clouded by thoughts of recent events, was less than at its best tonight… she thought of Raven, whom she had thought would be free forever from Trigon, just as Raven herself had thought. But it was not to be…

… He had returned. She could feel it, and she hardly needed (or wanted) confirmation.

News of his return had spread quickly after she had begun having… troubling dreams. She wondered vaguely, as she gently stroked the beak of a larger, cooing dove… whether Raven was suffering the same thing…

… And yet, there was… something else; something… she couldn't describe. Some comfort in Raven's life, some… happiness. She knew not what, but… she was glad for it, and thanked the fates every day Raven had been spared the misery that could have been wrought on her.

… She knew this because she could so often feel her daughter, at least in heart. She felt what Raven felt, and knew how she was feeling at any one moment…

… As Raven seemed to be all right… her attention, however, was upon… other issues.

The Master's words, spoken to her the night before, echoed in her memory.

'… You can't deny it. You know it's true… you may have thought you'd gotten rid of him, My Child… but one can never be rid of responsibilities.'

'It can not be!' She had protested. '… When I gave birth… to that… that… monster… he was not at all like Raven… my dearest Raven… he would have been… as Trigon!'

'… Perhaps.' The wise old man had said. 'Perhaps… not…… Evil may have spawned him, but… you, my dear, are not evil. And thus, he could not have been wholly corrupt. I scolded you for your actions then, but we may yet be forgiven; he is alive!'

… She remembered how she had swooned at the news. '… Alive?'

'Yes. You must go to your daughter at once… tell her—'

She had cut him off. 'Tell her what? That I have kept secrets from her all these years, after all?' She had asked bitterly. 'That she was not… the only result of that foul union?'

… The elder had stepped forward and put a wrinkled, gentle hand on her shoulder as he said. 'Child… this must be done. What hope hath she of fending off Mortal Evil… if Evil has a potential weapon of such power?'

'He may succumb to Trigon?' Arella asked at once, going pale.

'… I do not know… I do not think so. He has all the seemings of a demon, and looks like the Lord of the Pit himself… but… he is so much good in his nature. He cannot be an agent of the dark. All the same, however, it would be much safer… if you go to him, or her, at once… tell Raven, and she will find him. Explain it all to him…'

A pause.

'… I did not wish to alarm you, but… they are attacked.'

Arella had gasped loudly at the statement that night. 'What?'

'… Trigon hath sent his serpent, the foul Leviathan of the deep, to be done with them all. They shall overcome, have no fear…' The elder master said quickly, to calm the suddenly wide-eyed Arella. '… Raven and her friends shall come to no harm.'

'… But of… the other child…?'

'… As I said, Raven may be able to find him, after she has dealt with this latest threat. She will tell him of his heritage, whether he will listen or not, and ask him, for the sake of all that is dear, to aid us all in this struggle.'

'… I see…'

The Master's old face smiled. '… You will be glad to know, Raven is not so alone as you think…'

'… She has her friends. It is all she needs.'

'Nay, child, she hath love.'

'… What?'

'You may find out for yourself.' The old man had chuckled. 'When you go to see her.'

….

…… Arella snapped away from her reverie and stood up as the doves watched her curiously.

"… It is time. I must go. And I will see, who it is… this 'love' Raven has."

For the first time in a long time, Arella smiled deeply.

_**Hmm… So there's another few people involved in all this. As to what's going on at the Tower, where a giant sea serpent is currently on the loose, well… that's in part two of this chapter; coming very soon.**_

_**As always, hope this piques your interest; please Read and Review.**_


	27. Chapter Twenty Two, Part Two

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Twenty-Two, Part Two**_

"You're sure it's already out to sea?" Robin asked skeptically, though his face was grim. "I mean, how can you be so sure?"

Zero's answer was short and concise. "I'm willin' to bet that you spooked it pretty good when you smacked it with your staff… and when a creature like that gets spooked, it goes to wherever it feels safest."

"……" A long pause, save for the rattling of the windowpanes in the storm outside—it had diminished somewhat, but was still active; it was The Boy Wonder's guess that it wouldn't stop until that… that thing… was dead.

"I can take the ship." Zero insisted. "We can chase it down! All it would ta—"

"No." Robin said firmly. "You'd be killed. That thing could smash your ship like an eggshell; how can you possibly expect to—"

"See… there's a wee little thing called, 'The Cannon'…" Zero said sarcastically. "Oh Come on, I've got enough ordinance on that ship to sink the Titanic! Cannons… Harpoons…. Crossbow turrets…"

"Harpoons and Crossbows? Since when?" Robin demanded.

"Just 'cause I don't use 'em, doesn't mean they're not there." Zero said with something akin to a lopsided grin, his scarred eye sparkling slightly. "Trust me: I can hold my own."

"You're still forgetting one thing." Robin rebuked. "The T-Sub. It can keep up with your ship, according to Cy, but the weapon systems on it aren't designed for anything like this…"

… Zero sat down in a nearby chair—they were in the living room—and sighed. "… Everyone can fit on the Fryse Wyrm. I don't see why—"

"Because in the event your ship does go down, we'd have to have some way to get back to the tower…" Robin said firmly. He sat in the chair next to Sub-Zero. "… I still say we should wait here. If we go out on the sea, we'll be in its territory and right where it wants us."

"Right." Zero nodded impatiently. "But… who knows? Next time, what if you or anyone else… isn't around? I mean, if you hadn't of been there, Raven and Ghost—" He trailed off with a shudder. "… How are they anyway?"

Robin's gaze softened, and he shook his head sadly. "They're ok… Ghost is still shook up, but unharmed. Raven…… Well… you know her. Whether she's fine or not, she says she is."

"…" Zero's red eyes suddenly narrowed and he ran a hand through his snowy locks thoughtfully. "…. You know… we COULD station someone outside her door. Have her guarded at all ti—"

"No. No, not that." Robin said quickly. "… It would drive her insane. She hates having people close to her room, you know that." A pause. "… And even if it's for her safety, I don't want her being miserable…"

Sub-Zero nodded mournfully. "Aye… I see the point in that." A pause. "Still, at the very least… Ghost can stay with her. I mean, surely she wouldn't mind his presence after… erm… recent events."

"Jinx could as well, seeing as how she's close to Raven, but… she still hasn't returned…"

"Don't remind me…" Sub-Zero winced. "I'm already sick enough about that…"

There was a moment of silence, neither quite sure of how to continue the conversation… Finally, Robin sighed and rubbed his temples. "All right… give me a few minutes to think on what we need to do… and the—"

The door slammed open.

"Robin! Robin, come quickly!" Starfire suddenly entered the room, panting as though she'd been flying at top speed through the winding Tower hallways. "Sub-Zero, please get Smoke; we must—"

"Slow down!" Robin urged, leaping up from the chair and going to her, putting her hands on her shaking shoulders. "Slow down, say what's wrong again…?"

"B-Blackfire! Sister!" Star stammered tearfully. "She… she is having… some… fit! Some strange seizure; she will not wake up!"

Robin and Zero glanced at each other quickly.

"Coming… I'm right behind you." Robin said.

"I'll go get Smoke…" Zero added…

* * *

Cyborg stood stunned, his one real eye wide as a supper plate at the sight before him.

In the corner of his room, a large tarp lay rumpled on the ground, a number of ropes and chains, used to secure it, having been either broken or undone and now lay in a heap on top; the fabric of the tarp was stretched and wrinkled, and it was totally empty.

It was loose.

Immediately, he half celebrated, half panicked. It worked! But… apparently, it worked too well. Well enough to wander off on its own, and… if any of its weapons systems happened to be on the fritz…

Jesus Christ.

He completely forgot about what he'd entered his room for—grabbing a few tools to make tune-ups to the T-Sub—and instead dashed headlong out of the room and down the hallway of the Tower, opposite direction from where he'd come, muttering all the way.

"Oh yeah, way to Go, Cy… you just had to install that plasma cannon, huh? Huh? And those homing rockets! Yeah, I bet those'll come in real handy… or blow up the Tower. Whichever comes first… God!" He mumbled irritably.

Thunking himself in the side of the head with a silvery clang, he forced himself to stay rational.

"Let's see… If I were a robot…" He paused and chuckled at the irony of the statement. "… Where would I be…?" A beat ensued, and he soon answered himself. "I… I'd be doin'… whatever I was programmed to do, and this one… Hmm…" He scratched his bald head. "This one's programmed to clean… so……"

He grinned and snapped his fingers with a click. "Got it! Beast Boy's room!" And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Terra muttered irritably to herself when the canned drink she'd just gotten fizzed up and spilled over onto her hand, dousing it with cold, bubbling liquid. She cursed silently and shook it off. First the monster attacking Raven, Ghost… Blackfire was sick somehow... now this. Nothing seemed to be going right lately…

She groaned. Blackfire must have eaten something bad before going to sleep last, because in the middle of the nap she'd been taking… she'd started thrashing around, moaning… and she wouldn't wake up. Robin, Smoke… Star, Zero… they were there. But it didn't seem to help much.

It was loud too. She'd heard it from Beast Boy's room, which was very near Black and Starfire's shared room. Beast Boy was gone, to fetch—no pun intended—another canned drink for himself, so here she was: Sitting alone in his room, pondering recent events and gazing balefully out the window into the quiet, but still simmering storm outside.

The door creaked open.

"Hey, Beast Boy…" She said absentmindedly with a smile. "… Find some more drink?"

… No response.

"… Beast Boy…?"

… She realized with a sudden jolt, it was not Beast Boy that had just reentered the room. She turned slowly, wide-eyed. The door to the room stood wide open, into the Hallway outside, but there was no one to be seen. The lights of the room were dimmed, and the lack of sunlight from the overcast sky made things quite dark…

She cleared her throat. "… H-hello…? Someone there…?"

No sound, not so much as a peep.

… With a sigh, she managed to convince herself that the door hadn't been closed properly and had simply creaked open itself. Still, she laid a hand on a nearby flashlight—property of B.B.—just in case.

She took a few steps across the room and sat down on B.B.'s bed, with the flashlight clutched close to her chest. God, it was creepy in here. She wanted badly to get up and turn the lights up to full, but… something foreboding kept her rooted to the bed… she didn't want to venture into the shadowy corner where the light switch was.

… There was the sound of a door sliding open, Beast Boy's closet door, and something rummaging around.

Terra's heart did a swan dive into her gullet as she twisted around on the bed, flicking the light on and gasping, eyes wide. A figure… a figure stood in the doorway of Beast Boy's closet, waving a hand around… Terra froze. She tried to speak; nothing came from her constricted throat. Slowly, she raised the beam of illumination from the flashlight…

And she stared dumbly, nearly dropping the flashlight—and really dropping her jaw.

There was a teenaged girl, dark-skinned and with pale, white-red strawberry toned hair, standing there holding what appeared to be a large, fluffy feather-duster—and using it to dust off Beast Boy's shelves, neatly stacking things on either end as she did so. Her back was turned and she didn't seem to notice Terra.

The girl suddenly paused, patting a few specks of dust off the slightly-skimpy aquamarine blue robes she was wearing. Then, without a sound, she bent over and picked up a handful of junk from Beast Boy's closet floor, throwing it away in a nearby wastecan.

Terra opened her mouth, but could only manage: "… W-who… what…?"

The girl suddenly froze.

Then, with a stiff, mechanical motion, she snapped back up to an upright position with such abruptness and lifelessness of movement that Terra stumbled back with a gasp and a quiver, for so unnerving it was that she was now even more flustered and afraid than she'd been when she hadn't known what it was.

Slowly, stiffly, the girl turned… and stared curiously at Terra like a snake might gaze upon a small mouse. Her eyes—the strange girl's, not Terra's—were orange, orange as the fruit itself, and almost neon in quality; very vibrant and bright. Yet, for all this color, they seemed glassy and strangely empty; they were hollow. Looking at them gave one an impression of looking, not so much upon eyes, but open glass screens or camera lenses.

Something in that unblinking gaze sent a chill down Terra's back, and she began pacing backwards slowly, keeping the beam of her flashlight trained shakily on the girl as her hands trembled violently and her knees suddenly seemed gelatinous.

… Just as Terra was beginning to recover herself, however, the girl took a single, stiff-legged step towards her, still gazing intently with an expressionless visage. Terra gulped, pressing herself against the wall… then, all at once the strange girl began walking slowly, mechanically—almost creeping—towards Terra, who, upon looking left and right, realized she was hopelessly and utterly cornered…

The girl, still never blinking, never erring, never turning her head or batting an eyelash, reached out stiffly with her left arm, and made as if to reach for Terra, who cowered down on the ground and covered herself with her arms, quivering violently and nearly feeling faint.

… A moment passed. Two moments. Three. Four passed. … There was a long pause… and realizing she was still unharmed, Terra opened her eyes cautiously and blinked up at the odd girl.

She was holding something. It was…… the canned drink Terra had sat down earlier, when she had fumbled for the flashlight.

Terra blinked. She was dumbstruck, with no idea at all as to what to do. But upon seeing this gesture, she reached shakily towards it… and took the drink from the girl, who promptly and without so much as a word, gave a smile for the first time she'd entered, then turned and walked back to the closet; she set back to her quiet work of organizing and cleaning the closet, taking up her feather duster again.

Terra stared, calmed somewhat and glad to feel that her heart was back to its normal pulse rhythms. She opened her mouth to speak, and said: "… Who are you…?"

The girl turned again and glanced curiously at Terra, as though understanding her perfectly, but not sure how to answer.

Terra, beginning to feel more curious than freaked out by this point, took the opportunity to move over to the light switch and flick it upwards, turning the light on with a sudden flash of dazzling light that, though it made her wince momentarily, had no effect on the girl in front of her. She blinked and looked closely at the strange garments the girl wore…

The robe was short and clingy, ending just below the thighs save for one centered strip of cloth that hung down the middle on both sides. The body was sewn in such a way that the girl's sides were covered, but the belly area left bare from just below the navel to just below the chest; her shoulders were left exposed and the sleeves wrapped around her elbows and came down to her wrists, tufting out in frills. Just below the thigh area, where the robe ended, a pair of stocking-like fishnet leggings went down to her ankles, where she wore a pair of curled-toe slippers.

Her strange, pale pinkish-white hair hung down her back all the way to the middle of her legs, and nearly as long was the long blue silk bow that hung from it, ornamenting her strawberry toned locks, clashing with the caramel tone of her skin.

Terra took a step forward and spoke again. "… Can you… talk…?"

At this remark, the girl took a few hesitant steps backwards and gazed sadly at Terra, still not saying a word as to who she was or where she'd come from.

"… I'll… take that as a '_No'_…" Terra sighed. "Well… I guess you're not dangerous, at least." She paused. It suddenly dawned on Terra that the girl was slightly shorter than she was… and that she was very slowly, but very steadily, backing away from the geomancer. "Hey… are you Ok?" Terra asked concernedly.

Still, no response. It was as though she either had no vocal cords or knew not a word of English… or perhaps both.

"Well…. I guess… the others will want to know about this…" Terra reasoned quietly to herself. She put on the most amiable smile she could and extended an open hand to the girl. "Come on… I'll introduce you to everyone… and if you need somewhere to stay… Well… we can probably help…" She offered.

Surprisingly, the girl recoiled much like Terra had before. But after a moment's deliberation, as Terra insistently held out her hand, she took it and allowed herself to be led out of the room and down the Hallway…

… Cyborg cursed when he walked into the empty room five minutes later.

* * *

Blackfire panted, struggling to push herself just a little more, to give her flight that one extra burst of speed that might mean the difference in life and death. She rocketed through a dark, shadowy path—no landscape; just a dimly lit path in the middle of pitch blackness—and shuddered violently at the sounds of clatter and angry voices somewhere behind her.

A shot rang out, but it was a strange one. Instead of the crack of an ordinary rifle or the explosive roar of a shotgun, it was a sizzling, crackling hiss… some sort of energy based weapon.

… There was a high pitched whir and a moment later a bluish bolt of energy whizzed past Blackfire, scorching her right cheek and grazing her ear, prompting a cry of pain. She clenched her teeth, doing her best to ignore it…

She jerked around in midair, though still flying backwards with as much speed as she could muster, and prepared to return a shot of her own, but she saw nothing of her pursuers through the black mist and dim gloom that permeated the surreal area.

Her alarm only increased by this development, she realized with a sudden jolt: She could not see them. They, however, could see her.

Whipping back around, she bolted as fast as her powers of flight would carry her, not caring where she was going or why, only that she was pursued by some unknown entity, some terrible foe, and was currently afraid for her life—and more. She suddenly felt a bead of sweat forming on her brow, and began to lean somewhat in midair, exhausted from the long chase—this had been going on almost hours, it seemed to her mind—but still, she pressed on and gave her aching muscles one last push that sent her flying onwards…

… Another several gunshots pierced the deafening silence; this time none of them hit her, but instead pelted the ground to her immediate left and right, forming tiny smoking craters in her path. The fumes that rose from them were so foul in odor that she could vaguely smell their scent even as she passed them at insane speed: a bitter, acrid stench like burning hair, boiling acid, and brimstone. It chilled her.

She heard furious screams and shouts from behind, as well as another hissing gunshot. She tensed and turned a barrel roll in midair, shifting to the right and out of the way of the ray…

… Realizing too late, as she felt light growing brighter behind her and the high screech of the flying beam, that she had moved right into its path.

In the space of a split second, time slowed down and her flight ground to a crawl as she felt a searing agony tear through her back and scorch her heart before exiting her chest with a ripping sensation and a tingling electric shock.

She fell, stirring up a slowly rising mist of strange, silvery dust as she thudded against the ground in slow motion, hands clasping at her chest and legs splayed out wildly. … She felt the small, jagged gash in her metal underarmor and realized vaguely, through a haze of pain, that it was the exit wound; she felt something… warm… moist…

She heard a strange howling noise… a shrill howling…

Suddenly, her eyes opened and she found herself staring up at a night sky… the ground under her was now grayish dust. She sat up groggily, groaning and clutching her chest as the armor she wore slowly began to tinge red in her torso region. Ignoring the wound, she stumbled to her feet and looked around… the jagged, enormous rock structures in the distance and the distinct lack of vegetation… it was familiar, alarmingly familiar; she knew it from somewhere…

… Her mind clicked abruptly and she gasped, realizing this place looked like Tamaran. She was on Tamaran.

The howl—now accompanied by the familiar raised voices and the clatter of what sounded like weaponry—repeated itself.

She turned her head slowly, straining against the dull pounding ache within her skull, and saw what she didn't want to see. Fast approaching, there was what appeared to be a small mob of tall, gaunt silhouettes, some holding sleek, metallic guns and others holding tall, slender spears, but all of them holding ornate metal torches in one hand. The leaders—one extremely tall, and very stout and fat as well, holding a battle axe… the other short and slender, tiny in frame, but holding a shimmering plasma sword—each held the leash on a scaly reptilian creature that might have been the Tamaranean equivalent of a bloodhound; they snorted and hissed and sniffed the ground, slowly prowling forth in Blackfire's general direction as the mob followed them eagerly.

Blackfire moaned softly, staggering to her feet and, forsaking flight altogether, began stumbling clumsily forwards, her left hand hanging limply at her side whilst her right still clutched tightly at the wound in her chest.

She saw, in the distance ahead, a strange squat shape; it was a structure of some short… then, she realized it was some sort of cave. It suddenly occurred to her to conceal herself… running was now almost entirely out of the question, and if it came down to fighting… then it was all over.

In a lightheaded, dreamlike state, she managed to make her way over to the cavernous stone mouth of the cave and stumbled in, immediately seeking refuge behind a small pile of boulders; she curled herself in the darkness with her legs up to her chest and her head on her knees, strange jet black hair covering bleary, strange little violet eyes.

… Strange enough, apparently, to warrant termination with extreme prejudice, hiding-ever-so-politely under the guise of righteousness and sacredness.

However, none of this occurred to Blackfire, who knew only that she'd finally found safety and a place to catch her breath.

She stayed there for what might have been either minutes or hours; she could not have given a specific figure… only that it didn't seem to be very long before she felt her eyelids growing leaden, and her limbs' aches began to dull and change into a light numbness… her eyes, bloodshot and strained, began to close slowly, and her hand fell from her chest, stained a macabre red as though with ink… she began to slide back against the cool stone wall, legs stretching out across the dusty rock floor of the cavern. Slowly but surely, she was falling asleep; fatigue had taken its toll.

She yelped abruptly as something seized her by the hair and yanked fiercely, pulling her to her feet in seconds; she was blinded by a sudden flash of light, shutting her eyes tightly in an effort to block out the torturous illumination. She took a few random, haphazard swings with her fists, both of which blazed violet, but hit nothing; the sound of throaty laughter rang clearly in her ears…

She felt herself being pulled again, whoever was doing the pulling paying no mind to her gasps and yelps as the sharp rocks of the cave floor dug up against her feet through the soles of her high boots.

She forced herself to open her weak eyes, and began to quiver at what she saw.

The mass of indistinct figures, two of which were dragging her along by the underarms like a long sack, were gathered around a solitary rock structure near the cave entrance. Gray and craggy, it shot straight up like a column and then jutted out to the left at the top like a limb. … And upon that limb, was fixed a chain-link knot. And on that knot, were more and more chains, forming…

… Forming the unmistakable stretched-oval shape, so efficient for easily fitting around one's neck and being tightened at will. It was a noose. And it was strung about two and a half feet long, leaving the rest of the space to the ground empty… the space was about two feet longer than Blackfire was tall.

Her horrified train of thought was cut off rudely when she was shoved to the ground in a bloodied, beaten heap. She tried to support herself on her knees and forearms, rosy red blood still dripping steadily from her chest, but her knees shook like jelly and her arms gave way helplessly.

She cried out in pain when she felt the sole of a boot come crashing down on her fingers, but lacked the strength to pull her arm away. She looked up wearily…

There stood a figure, short and thin with a slender, oval-shaped face. His eyes were green, deep emerald green and pupilless, making him look unmistakenably inhuman, more so than most Tamaraneans. His flame red hair hung choppily down his neck in a rat-tail type 'do, and he smiled soullessly, his eyes crackling slightly and reflecting from his ornate purple armor and shining silken cape.

"… Any last words, Sister?"

* * *

Smoke, already on edge with the closest person in his life in an apparent coma, got a nasty shock when said person sudden shot bolt upright in their bed, shrieking bloody murder five and a half inches away from his keen ears, loudly enough to make the nearby windowpanes vibrate just slightly.

There was, almost immediately, a vague clatter that was indistinct under Blackfire's screams, as Smoke yelped and leapt backwards several feet, along with what sounded like a very irritated feminine voice yelling something to the effect of 'Don't just stand there; Hug her or something, Dammit!' It seemed to be Raven…

Smoke seemed to heed the advice, because he stumbled over, nearly tripping over Silkie, and hopped up onto the bed with Blackfire, kneeling and holding her close. A moment later, he felt himself seized bodily as she grabbed his midriff and squeezed with all her strength, burying her head in his left shoulder. Somehow, he managed to ignore the fact that he could scarcely breathe and instead focused on trying to calm her down. Her screaming had stopped, but she was shaking violently…

Starfire ran a hand through her sister's hair and reassured her she was safe, and that there was nothing in the room that could harm her; that Smoke was there, Robin was there, everyone was. Slowly, Blackfire lifted her head and sniffed softly, her eyes stained with moisture and reddened.

… She took a shaky breath and groaned, slightly disoriented but vastly relieved. It had all just been a dream.

She suddenly realized that at some point during the last few moments, Smoke had removed his black leather jacket and draped it over her like a blanket; she could feel its warmth on her skin, wearing only the black pajamas she always wore to sleep.

Smoke kissed her forehead lightly. "… Are you OK…?" He asked. "Are you hurt?"

This was an odd question, considering it's difficult for one to hurt themselves in a dream, but Smoke was so flustered right now that it never occurred to him; he cared only for Blackfire's safety.

She tried to say she was all right, but… she couldn't manage anything but a quivering whimper. So, she simply shook her head and lay forward onto him again.

There was a knock at the door, causing Ghost—who was standing nearby—to jump, but he quickly recovered himself and opened the door. It was Terra.

"… Erm… guys… there's something you should see…" She said slowly, uncertainly. "Someone you should probably meet."

Robin gave her an odd look, but didn't ask. Terra made a 'come hither' gesture with her hand and walked into the hall, and he began to follow along with Zero, Raven, and Ghost who were all present. When he turned to address Smoke, he stared.

… In the few seconds they'd been left unattended when Terra had entered, Smoke had somehow gotten himself under the sheets with Blackfire, with both arms around her shoulders, while she lay at an angle with her head across his chest and her hands clutching his. They were both silently and totally asleep.

In the end, they decided it was better—for both the sleepers' interest and their own—not to wake them, but instead went outside to see what Terra was going on about…

* * *

"Keep it down!" Voltaire hissed. "You sound like a pack of _burros_!"

"I do not!" Kitten protested. "…… Sound like what…?"

"… _Burro_. You know…. Horsey-looking, big floppy ears and buck teeth, hooves…"

"… A donkey?"

"Donkey, _burro_, same difference!" He snapped. "Anyway… take off those heels, will you? I hear someone moving around out there, and it's better if they don't know we're here…"

"Why?" Kitten asked. "They might be able to get the door open!"

"Yes… and it might ALSO be a bunch of burglars. And if they're armed, well… I can handle them. You, on the other hand…" He took a quick glance up and down Kitten's scrawny frame and sniffed. "… You don't look cut out for combat. So for your own sake, just keep quiet, huh?"

She glared at him for a moment, then broke into a catlike grin. "Aww… I didn't know you cared about me like that!" She half purred, half simpered in a sickly sweet voice.

Voltaire slapped his forehead. "Just… stay out of the way if anything happens…"

"I'm not harmless, you know." Kitten snapped. "I can fight too!"

"Yes…" Voltaire responded absent-mindedly, his eyes locked on a trio of dark figures moving around outside the front windows. "Yes, I suppose you can scratch at them and whine them to death…"

Kitten started to retort, but he hushed her with a red index-claw to his lips. She huffed quietly and glared.

"Stay here a minute…" He said after a pause. "… I'm going to have a look."

"You're just going to leave me here?" She demanded immediately, aghast. "What if—"

"I'll be back in a second; sheesh…" He mumbled darkly. "Hmph. _Señorita Peacock_…"

Before she could protest further, Voltaire hopped silently upwards and clung to the wall with his nails, clinging in place. Then, with a distinctly lizard-like movement, he was gone towards the front room again.

… He scurried across the wall silently, not wanting to make sounds of footsteps and alert whoever it was outside. Finally, when he reached the space of wall beside the largest of the front windows, he could see the figures through the still-drawn curtains, talking incoherently amongst themselves. Voltaire positioned himself just above the window, clinging to the wall, and placed his ear to the windowpane whilst keeping himself just out of sight…

* * *

"What do you mean, it's locked?" Ryand'r demanded, eyes blazing. "The sign is still lit, and I see lights on in there! And besides…" He motioned to the enormous pink limousine parked nearby. "… There is still a primitive human vehicle here. Someone must be inside, and I'm HUNGRY!"

"Relax, Spacedude, we'll get you somethin' to eat." Geo assured, knocking on the door again. "Uh, hey… any cats home? I got a little moonman here with a hankerin' for a hamburger! Hello…?"

Argent sighed, fluttering her silvery eyelashes. "I already told you, I don't think anyone's here… they would have responded by now."

"Hmph. Says you! Stand back…" Ryand'r grunted, roughly shoving Argent aside, knocking her down and prompting a gasp. He held out his left hand, and immediately it began to crackle with emerald energy.

"Wha—what? You can't blow up the door!" Argent protested angrily as Geo helped her up from the ground.

"I can. And I will. Diplomatic immunity." Ryand'r said simply.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second!" Geo decided to interrupt them. "I got an idea… wait just a minute…" he jogged off to his car, and popped the lid of the trunk… for the next few minutes, he rummaged around, tossing aside empty bags and bits of junk such as snack wrappers, Red Bull cans, vodka bottles, jumper cables, and pocketknives… finally, a muffled 'Aha!' permeated the layers of mess he was buried in, and he emerged holding a stiff black iron rod with a hooklike point on one end—a crowbar.

"We don't have to blow it up—we can pry it open." Geoforce announced with a devious grin.

"Isn't that breaking and entering…?" Argent asked dryly.

"… Uh… well…" A beat. "… 'Course not, Baby; s'just knocking very vigorously; that's all. Besides, we aren't breakin' anything, we're just entering."

Argent stared, bemused, as Geo made his way to the door and roughly inserted the crowbar between them. But she couldn't help but smile at his simple-mindedness. _'Maybe I should go for the Bad Boys from now on…'_ She noted mentally. _'Hm… well, as long as they're stupid anyway. It's kinda cute.'_

Geoforce swatted aside his mop of blonde hair and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Then, rubbing his hands together in preparation, he grabbed the crowbar and pulled against it with as much might as he could muster—that is, a good bit of strength; more than his wiry frame would suggest. But still, the doors just let out a faint, metallic groan and clicked stubbornly, locked up tight. Geo strained and huffed, but eventually he had to let go and stumble back, panting.

"Oh, for X'hal's sake, give me that!" Ryand'r snapped. He grabbed the crowbar with his small fist, and his fingers left a distinct imprint on his surface. He roared, eyes crackling green and fingers shooting off emerald sparks, and he gave it a fierce yank. There was the sound of metal under high tension, and barely a moment had passed when the doors, not only opened, but popped off their hinges and slammed to the ground with an enormous pounding of metal against mud. Tossing aside the now-bent crowbar, Ryand'r wiped his hands effortlessly and stomped inside…

Geoforce followed muttering something to the effect of 'Show-off', and then, Argent went in, giggling lightly in a soft, trilling tone, apparently amused by the odd duo's antics.

* * *

…Upon crossing past the bar and going into the back storerooms, the first thing Ryand'r found was a bowl of lukewarm, half eaten ravioli… immediately; he downed it with a gulp, ignoring Geo and Argent's protests.

* * *

"… Hey…HEY. THAT WAS MINE, YOU PIG!"

They all whipped around, gazing alarmed around the room.

Voltaire clapped a hand over Kitten's mouth as they dangled by his tail in the rafters. "The Hell are you thinking??"

* * *

She screeched something muffled and kneed him in the gut, thus causing him to lose his gripping.

There was an extraordinarily loud clatter as Voltaire, in all his demonic glory, came tumbling downwards and landed flat on his back just in front of Argent's feet.

"…….. Hola." He grunted dryly, revealing his rows of jagged and pearly needle-like teeth.

Before the stunned trio could even reply, a blonde headed girl came thumping down afterwards, landing rump first on his head with an '_Oof_!'

… There was a long awkward pause with the vague sounds of Ryand'r's jaw hitting the ground, Geoforce suddenly hopping into Argent's arms, bridal style, and Voltaire squirming and cursing frantically—albeit muffled—in Spanish under Kitten's bony derrière.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH**!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKK!_"

When the roguish rapscallion finally managed to pry himself from her tush and shove her off, muttering, he saw nothing more than a faint trail of dust where three sets of feet had hauled major ass back to a beat-up Mercury Cougar outside and abruptly squealed off, tires screeching and burning rubber.

… On the bright side, the door was open.

… On the dark side, he had but one ride out of here… and it might just involve a lot of ass-kissing. No pun on earlier events intended.


	28. Chapter Twenty Three, Part One

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Twenty-Three, Part One_**

The long, cylindrical bulb mounted to the roof provided a meager, whitish light that flooded in long sheets over the hallway, though it flickered slightly; the storm outside, still simmering, seemed to be affecting the Tower's power systems. It was in this dim, artificial light that a girl stood rigid, completely oblivious of the scrutiny with which she was being examined.

"… Terra, who is this?" Starfire's voice, somewhat hurt and pouting, began. "Why did you not tell us you had a friend over for company?"

"I didn't!" Terra protested by way of response. "She just… appeared. I don't know who she is or where she came from. And she's…. odd…" To demonstrate her point, she took the girl's sleeve and tugged lightly a couple times.

The girl remained absolutely frozen like a statue, and at that moment, it became suddenly apparent that there was a certain… inhumanity in her. Her eyes, though lovely, were hollow looking and seemed to go on forever like deep pits with no bottom; they could have pierced even the thickest armor. Her skin, as well, was flawless and smooth, but… almost too smooth. Too flawless to be genuine, and it was strangely reflective, as though she had just oiled it. Indeed, its caramel tone and shadowy texture did not alleviate the impression of cold metal that it gave.

Beast Boy took a couple of steps forward, past Terra, and outstretched his left hand slowly and cautiously. With a single, gloved index finger, he tapped the girl's forehead, as though to see if she were really alive, or was just a statue as some, I'm sure, were beginning to expect.

The girl did not so much as bat an eyelash in response, but her glossy eyes swiveled in their sockets and fixed themselves curiously on him; this was the only movement at all she made. The green shapeshifter, finding this unnerving gaze suddenly locked upon him, gulped and skittered back behind Terra and Sub-Zero—the former sighing and the latter chuckling softly.

There was a long, awkward pause in which no one present was sure what to do or to say. The titans stared at the girl staring at them staring at her. Everyone, save for the stoic young lady, sweatdropped silently.

Finally, Robin and Sub-Zero—possibly the most competent of the two present, with the exception, perhaps, of Raven—looked helplessly at each other and shrugged. Robin made a gesture to Zero and mouthed, 'You?'. Zero shook his head and mouthed back in response, 'No, you!'.

After a bit of this back and forth, Robin finally sighed heavily and stepped forth, holding out his hand invitingly for a handshake. He took a deep breath and began in the friendliest, gentlest tone he could muster: "Right. We haven't met, but… the name's Robin."

The girl stared blankly for a moment, but then, hesitantly took his hand in a quivering grasp and shook it for a second before letting go and withdrawing her hand nervously.

"This is Terra—you've already met her…" Robin explained, motioning to said blonde, who smiled and waved in response. "This is Zero…" The knight nodded and murmured something along the lines of 'Bonjour, Mon Cherie.' "This is Starfire…" Robin continued. At this point, the Tamaranean princess beamed and said, "I am overjoyed to initiate the making of the acquaintance with you!"

Robin sighed and shook his head with a wry smile. "Anyway… this is Beast Boy." He added, pointing at B.B., who flashed the girl a peace sign and a grin. "… This is Raven." The sorceress remained expressionless and grunted 'Charmed' dryly. "This is Ghost." The black-haired young man adjusted his monocle nervously and stuttered 'V-very n-n-nice to meet you, Miss.' Robin rolled his eyes and concluded, "And the two in there asleep are Smoke and Blackfire." He finished, pointing to the room they'd just exited.

Zero took the opportunity, seeing no one else was going to speak, to ask a few questions. "I don't believe we caught your name, Madame…?"

The girl blushed slightly at being addressed so formally, but said nothing; she looked despairingly at them as though she hadn't the foggiest idea how to respond.

"Well, nevermind." Zero said dismissively. "At any rate, you're welcome to stay with us 'long as you want. Oh! And don't let Smoke frighten you, if he gives you a hard time later: he's just full of hot air."

At this, the girl merely cocked her head and gazed at them quizzically.

"I say…" Chortled Ghost in his wispy voice. "Not much of a conversationalist, is she? Still, better to be quiet and thought a fool than to speak and prove it." He said cheerfully, up until Raven elbowed him in the gut.

At this the girl laughed—a twittering trill, light and airy, and barely audible. Still, it was the first sound she'd made thus far, and a good start; everyone turned to stare at her in wonder. Seeing all eyes on her, she abruptly went quiet again as though she'd been caught doing something reprehensible; she stared silently and glumly at the ground beneath her feet…

"… I don't think we're going to get much out of her…" Zero sighed finally to the others, careful to keep his voice just low enough to be out of the girl's earshot. "… Is she mute or something…?"

"Beats me." B.B. said with a nonchalant shrug. "But… it makes me nervous, what with all this weird crap going on lately. Where'd she come from, and how do we know she's not… y'know…"

He avoided any mention of the name on his mind, but Raven flinched-ever-so-slightly nonetheless.

Suddenly, Raven's eyes narrowed sternly and she took a few calm steps towards the girl, who backed up a foot and a half in response, suddenly looking fearful. Without a word, Raven stretched her arm out with her hand open, as though to place her palm on the center of the girl's dark forehead. But before her hand made contact, the girl yelped suddenly, causing almost everyone to jump; she immediately bolted and hid behind Robin, causing the boy wonder to blush beige red and Starfire to stare indignantly as she clutched at his back and cape.

"What the Hell're you doin'?" Zero asked, staring.

"I'm going to read her mind." Raven snarled simply. "It's the only way to know for sure. Otherwise, how will we know anything about her…? Since she won't tell us."

"Uh…. Call me crazy, but I think she's a little scared…" Beast Boy observed, as Star tried in vain to pry the girl off of Robin—who seemed frozen to the spot; rooted—with no success; the girl was cowering with eyes shut tightly; not noticing Star's protests and tugs, and, "Please. This is MY boy. Go and find your own!"

"What's there to be scared of?" Raven demanded flatly.

"Well, Dear, you ARE rather—" Raven gave Ghost a withering glare and he faltered mid-sentence. "…… Erm… L-lovely!"

In a second, Raven's scowl flipped into the opposite reciprocal and she beamed. "Thanks." She said wryly, suppressing a laugh. "But… still… what are we going to do about her?"

"… Well, first…" Zero said deadpan, gazing at Star's mortified face as the girl clung to Robin's legs rather—cozily… "First of all, we'll need a crowbar and some grease…"

Suddenly, the girl snapped to attention, gazing wide-eyed down the dim hallway. For a moment everyone was oblivious, but when they noticed, all eyes followed her gaze—even the masked stare of Robin, who'd finally managed to free himself of his stupor.

Without warning, she bolted down the hall and was gone, before anyone could stop her.

A moment of stunned silence…

Then, there was a loud outcry and an earsplitting thud, accompanied by a squeeing sound and a metallic clatter, echoing muffledly back to the dumbfounded teenagers.

"… Was that… Cy?"

_**FIVE MINUTES LATER…**_

"Uh…. Yeah. So…. I know how this looks, right? But I can explain; really…" Cy said, the girl on all fours and rubbing herself against his legs like a large cat; complete with muffled purring.

"Ain't nothin' to explain, you dog, you!" Smoke, awakened by all the clatter though Blackfire had slept through it, said. "So, where'd you meet 'er? Mall, theatre, Restaurant… Sidwalk…?"

"What? No man, you don't get it; she's a—" He was cut off as Star suddenly grabbed him by the middle and hugged, letting of gnashing and twisting metal sounds.

"OH, FRIEND CYBORG; I AM SO ELATED!" She said, nearly in tears of joy.

"Urk! Argh…. Can't…. breathe…."

"Star…. Starfire! Please, you're going to choke him!" Zero protested, as he—along with an equally frustrated Robin—tried to pry the overzealous girl off of Cyborg's metallic chest…

"At least he's mechanical." Robin grunted, pulling with as much force as he could muster. "If he had a spine, it'd be snapped by now…"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!!"

Raven's spell saved the day as a black barrier abruptly fizzled into life between Cyborg and Starfire, allowing the mechaman a chance to breathe—which, though he wasn't necessarily required to do, being mostly robotic, he still did anyway out of habit.

"Good show." Ghost said, patting her shoulder, and then running off to help restrain Starfire, who by this time was blushing as she started to realize what she was doing.

"She… (gasp)… is… (wheeze)… a r—" Cy broke into a coughing fit here, not able to finish his sentence immediately.

"Raver?" Beast Boy suggested, eyeing her odd appearance.

"Rapist?" Smoke snickered. Everyone gave him a bizarre, blank stare. "…. Just kidding… sheesh…"

"… R-Robot!" Cy hacked grumpily.

…. Another blank stare, significantly more bug-eyed than the first. There was a long period of silence, nobody being quite sure what to say to the abrupt revelation. Finally, Robin snapped out of his stunned daze and uttered: "… W-what?"

Cyborg sighed, grinning smugly, and repeated slowly as though to make The Boy Wonder understand. "A… Ro… Bot… y'know… a mechanical thing that looks like a person?"

Sub-Zero, upon finally managing to haul his jaw back up from the ground, shook his head incredulously. "You mean… to tell me… she's not even real?" He demanded, pointing at the girl, who simply gazed silently at him in reply. "She's a machine?"

"That's exactly what I mean to tell you."

"But why? I mean, where'd she—" Beast Boy began, but Cy cut him off.

"—Come from? I built her." He said proudly, swelling himself up important-like. "With my own two hands. I figured we could use someone to keep this place clean, what with the way Beast Boy and Smoke trash it." He said in a half joking, half serious manner; before the enraged gunman could retort, he continued: "Besides, I needed a project to work on or I was gonna go crazy."

"Right. As though Blackfire's bike wasn't enough?" Smoke snorted.

Robin suddenly snapped to attention. "Wait… Blackfire's _WHAT_?"

Smoke cursed mentally.

* * *

"Citizens of the Demon Dimension! Brothers! _Warriors_! Dark Folk of the Flames!" Trigon bellowed, his massive voice echoing across the plains of his Hellish world. "For too long we have stewed here, banished for eternity from the green fields and sunlight of the Mortal Realm! For too long have mortal men cursed our names, crushed our brothers, and stamped us out! Will we allow it any longer?" 

"**_NAY_**!!" A collective roar issued forth from an army of demons of all shapes and sizes; all colors from blood red to inky black, with horns or fins or tails or wings; they were armed with all manner of rusty pikes and axes, or with large clubs. They were legion in number; like a swarm of wasps in the hive, and wore rusty iron armor or black leather loincloths and the like.

"When they drove us to this burning plane, they sealed their fate!" Trigon barked, his voice carrying clear across the crowd in crystal clarity—or at least as clear as his gravelly bellow could be. "How?"

"**_IN BLOOD_**!" The demons roared back at him, rattling their weapons and armor like bones.

"When the mortals wake in a cold sweat, when they are oppressed by terror, when their hearts are dragged down with grief…! Who is haunting them?"

"**WE ARE**!"

"We are a brotherhood of shadows and death!" Trigon screamed, a horde of lesser imps carefully clamping on a suit of massive, obsidian armor with ruby trim onto his huge frame as he spoke. "What is our creed?"

"**_MURDER ALL, WITHOUT EXEMPTION; WOMEN, CHILDREN, ALL FOR THE PYRE_**!" The unified yell answered from below.

His armor on, the ugly imps began to fasten a crimson hooded cloak, clasped with bones and antlers chained together, around his thick red neck. He continued his dark sermon: "Now… after a thousand millennia of misery… after lifetimes upon generations of oppression…!" The cape was on, and next, a troupe of imps scuttled forth, bearing what looked like a twisted, gnarled pitchfork cast from solid ebony with a silver tri-point. He drew it and lifted it aloft, his horrid face contorting into a four-eyed sneer, fangs protruding down his fat, blood-red lips. "Now… We attack. _WHO RULES_?"

"**_YOU_**!"

"**_YOU DO_**!"

"**_LORD TRIGON_**!"

"**_YOU, M'LORD_**!"

A dissonant symphony, or a sublime cacophony, answered him in brutal tones.

"For Victory, we invoke the names of our lords! Of Satan! Of Beelzebub! Of Mephistopheles! Of Lucifer! Of Legion!"

"**_SATAN! BEELZEBUB! MEPHISTOPHELES! LUCIFER! LEGION!_**"

"Who is your enemy?" Trigon pursued.

"**_THE TEEN TITANS_**!" Every demon in the immediate area, from lowest imp to the middle Incubus, to the highest of the lot; the mighty, goat-legged and horned Hellionnaire… all screamed the name of the teen superhero group as though they were spitting a curse from their rotted mouth.

"And what… do we do with enemies…?" Trigon asked very slowly, his voice suddenly fading with relish of both the question and the inevitable answer.

A long pause…

… Then, the entire plane of the Demon World seemed to shatter with sound; loud, earsplitting, blasphemous sound.

"**_KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM_**!"

As a large portal, crackling and black as sack-cloth, opened up in the distance—courtesy of Myntull's hard work and sophisticated machinery—Trigon loosed a hideous warcry, and the demons, as though spurred on, hefted their weapons and charged, screaming, screeching, roaring, crowing, towards the unsuspecting mortal world.

… As the shadowy horde advanced on the portal, the demented scientist floated towards his armored leader on a metallic platform and sniffed, adjusting his blood-flecked spectacles. "Need I remind you… the jump from here to Earth will take a variable amount of time."

"You've already told me." Trigon snarled. "… How long?"

"At most….. Six hours. At least…. A few minutes. No telling."

Trigon looked mildly apprehensive for a split second, but his four eyes narrowed and flickered, all traces of worry vanishing. "No matter. They will be long dead in six hours, if all goes as planned."

"Leviathan is actively engaged in attack… Mad Mod is standing by." Myntull reminded.

"Excellent…"

* * *

"So…." Smoke motioned at the now stiff and seemingly-asleep girl lying on a metal platform in the garage, several tools lying nearby. "… You thought up a name yet?" 

"Well… working on it." Cyborg said absentmindedly.

The two of them had retreated to the garage, after Cy had given them a brief explanation of his latest creation, and deactivated her with a swift push to the back of the neck. She'd fallen limply on the ground, eyes suddenly hollowing and closing shut; had everyone present not known she was a robot, it would have been very unnerving—and still was to some, considering how lifelike she looked.

As a matter of fact, even Smoke—more than used to seeing bloodshed and carnage, being designed to stomach it without trouble—had to flinch a little as he now watched Cy pop open a small 'lid' in the girl's smooth skin, on her side, as though it was the gas tank of a car. He shuddered even more so when Cy began digging around with a modified wrench of some sort, and he almost expected to see blood spurting out, before he forcefully reminded himself he was looking at a machine.

"Man… Looks……. Painful…" Smoke couldn't help but utter, with a nervous chuckle.

"She has no nerves." Cyborg responded flatly. "Can't feel it."

"Yeah… yeah, guess you're right."

… A long, awkward pause.

"…. So… they're getting Zero's ship ready, huh? And the T-Sub?"

"Yeah…" Cy nodded. "It's about time too. We need to get after that monster, before it gets after us… again." His one normal eye narrowed with worry. "… More specifically, after Raven."

"Yeah… 'course, Raven ain't helpless. She can more than take care of herself."

"I know." Cyborg responded quickly. "It's just… I can't help but worry. She's my friend, y'know? I… I don't… want to see anything happen to her."

"Well, if it does, we know Ghost ain't gonna be a fat lot of help." Smoke snorted. "That guy's about as useless as an umbrella in the desert, when he's scairt. Which is, most of the time, heheheh."

"… Really…? What makes you say that?" A bit of surprise was evident in Cy's deep, otherwise calm chuckle.

"Oh, come on. You know as well as I do, he'd be haulin' his scrawny ass back towards China—"

"Japan?"

"Whatever… Long before he'd EVER think about fightin' so much as a big lizard to protect nobody! I mean, at least if… it was scary enough."

"You have a point…" Cy admitted thoughtfully. He put the wrench aside. "Hey, can you hand me that drill…?" Smoke winced a bit, but complied nonetheless. "… Thanks. Still… I think he's got enough self control to keep himself from doing that. Especially if Raven's involved. He might be a wuss, but I think he's also got a lot more courage than he lets on…"

"I hope so." Smoke groaned. "… To be honest, he ain't a bad guy. I know he helped us out with Behemoth and all, and… well… he probably saved your ass and mine in his actions that night. But…" He shook his head. "… That cowardice o' his just makes me damn nervous sometimes."

Cyborg set a bit on the drill and began drilling into the robot girl's innards, much to Smoke's dismay. "… I know. But we just gotta trust the guy. It's all we can do."

A voice from the hallway; presumably Robin's. "Guys, come on. The storm's in a lull; if we're gonna go out looking for this thing, now's the time."

"Right!" Cy hollered back. "Just give me one second…"

Cyborg closed the 'lid' and put his tools away in a red toolbox, pulling a sheet over the still girl like a funerary shroud. … Smoke shuddered yet again in spite of himself, provoking a slightly morbid chuckle from Cy.

After a moment, he turned to the gunman with a wry grin.

"A'ight, then. … Shall we take a cruise?"

Smoke smiled rigidly in response. "Do some eel-huntin', yeah. Gimme a sec to go wake up Blackie; she ain't gonna wanna miss this! I just hope she gets to feelin' better."

They laughed and high fived—er, high barreled as Cy used his cannon and Smoke his seven-barelled shotgun—and left the room, leaving the mechanical girl alone beneath the sheet.

… If one's reason hadn't've told them otherwise, they might have imagined seeing a tiny shudder beneath the white, thin sheets. However, it wasn't the movement of the sheets at all. It was the movement of something almost dead-still and completely transparent—vaguely human in shape—that was standing near the small table.

… As though struck by the words that had been spoken, it slowly glided off, growing ever fainter.

* * *

_**A SHORT WHILE LATER…**_

Ghost gloomily watched the tower fading out of sight in the distance, becoming ever smaller—at a surpsing rate that attested to the speed of Zero's ship; even the T-Sub, a legend of speed in and of itself, had a fair run of things keeping up—and ever more shrouded by the storm's shadows. He remembered the massive, snakelike sea monster that had attacked earlier; it's teeth dripping with poison, it's eyes bloodlusty… and wondered vaguely whether he'd get to see that tower again any time soon, if ever.

He was situated, along with a couple bags of meager belongings and provisions, in a room of the lower deck of the Fryse Wyrm, Sub-Zero's galleon; around him were rooms belonging to Terra, Smoke, Blackfire, and, of course, the upper cabin for Zero. He gazed pensively through a port-hole window.

He realized, quite violently, that they were right. Both of them. Cy, for defending him, but also Smoke for jeering him—and admittedly, Smoke had been rather grouchy since Blackfire'd had that curious night-fit. But still, he was right.

Sure, he'd fight. He'd suck it up and fight, but… only when made to do so. If given any choice at all, he'd… run away. Just, flee…

… He already knew that made him a coward.

… But did he make him a liability as well?

He sighed and disappeared with a cracking sound and a puff of shadow; reappearing almost immediately, he opened the bag on the other side of the room and began pulling out various things.

A few of the books Raven had given him to look over—though he still had no hope of actually interpreting them—and several more books donated to his education effort by Sub-Zero; many of which, oddly enough, seemed to be dusty old fairy tale books with large, full-color illustrations painted on every few pages. Ghost was delighted he could at least enjoy these bits.

After musing over these a few minutes, he began to look through the ones Raven had given him. After a moment, he selected one that piqued his interest. It was very thick, and bound in black leather; with crimson tassel and trim. On its cover was an emblazoned word he, obviously, could not read but was made to look rather like dripping blood.

… He spent the next few minutes thumbing through it idly. But soon enough, he stopped cold.

On one of the pages was a black-and-white drawing illustrating what was, presumably, a scene from the book. It… was rather disturbing, at least, to Ghost.

A young man, dressed all in respectable suit clothes, was bursting through a door holding a revolver, his face a hybrid of mingled horror and righteous anger. At his sides were what looked like an elderly professor in spectacles and a doctor-looking sort. Across from the room, their stunned expressions were explained: a young woman, hauntingly charming, was stretched out almost painfully-splayed upon a tall bed. … Bent over her was a tall, gaunt figure. A man with slicked back black hair, massive fangs protruding from thin lips, and a cloak over a black tux suit. Massive bat wings protruded from his back and he leered evilly at the crew of heroes.

In an unconscious movement, he clicked his own sharpened molars together a couple times and his leathery black wings twitched beneath his coat, unawares to even him.

… Then, in a brief flash of despair his mind imagined himself in the picture, wings splayed wickedly and teeth gnashing at the trio of men at the door; he imagined the man with the revolver as having spiky, brownish hair like thorns and shiny hazel-gold eyes.

He quickly shook it off.

* * *

"…. You… you don't… look good." Smoke said sadly. 

"Fine…" She mumbled roughly from her cot; where she sat Indian Style, looking out the window at the rolling waves just beneath them. "…. I'm fine…"

A long silence. Finally, Smoke walked over to Blackfire, sat down on the bed next to her and shot his most genial, disarming grin. "Ain't nothin' to get worked up over, y'know. S'just a bad dream."

"I know that!" She snapped. Her tone was more mocking than truly angry, but the words still stung a bit. She saw him flinch, and decided to soften the blow, immediately feeling like a bitch.

"… I mean…… I know it's just a dream." She shook her head. "…. Just… really…. Real."

"Star said the same thing…" Ghost nodded thoughtfully. "…. Y'know, I wonder… if it's something around the tower? You ain't been eatin' none of Star's cooking, have you?" He asked sternly. "Hell, that'd Give ME nightmares!"

"No… no, not that. And I happen to LIKE Starfire's cooking!" She protested.

"Man… y'all and those alien guts of yours…" He shuddered. "Anyway… sorry. Didn't mean nothing by it, I just… I wish, I could determine what's been causing these nightmares of y'alls."

"… I'm sure… it was just a freak Thing." She assured. "A one time deal, with no real reason."

"Maybe so." He said, smiling. He was relieved. "At least… you're feeling better now."

"Yeah. I'm fine." She repeated, smiling again for the first time as well. But it soon faded… "I'm more worried about Raven. And Ghost…"

He shrugged. "Raven's a tough'un. She can take it; and… Ghost… well, he's a tough'un too. Even though he might not act like it. You've seen what he can do."

"… He's such…" Blackfire paused. "… He's so…. Wimpy. Well, not wimpy, but…" She seemed to be fumbling for a word.

"… Feminine?" Smoke snorted with a chortle. She soon elbowed him and said, "I'm serious, here!"

"Me too. But anyway, I know what you mean…. He's just a little bit of a chicken; just like Zero, for all those muscles and all that armor plating, is a big, softhearted bastard on the inside, y'know?" He laughed.

"Zero? Softhearted?" Blackfire said doubtfully. "I know him as well as you do, and he's always seemed… pretty stern to me."

"Stern… stern…" Smoke repeated.

She blinked. "What?"

"…. Ain't that part of a boat? 'Cause if'n it is, then I ought to make a joke here, _hehehehe_…"

Blackfire smacked her forehead.

He laughed, slapping the leg of his overalls, and continued before his girlfriend could retort angrily. "But nah, seriously: Haven't you ever noticed…. All Jinx has to do is sniffle a little and pouch her lips up—like so…" he squished his lips up in a rather fish like gesture that was exaggerated, albeit only slightly so. "And Bam, he does whatever she says, no questions asked."

Blackfire couldn't help but laugh. She burst into a fit of giggling and cackling so loud that it was likely it was heard up on top-deck. Smoke smiled, somewhat soothed to see her so cheerful after recent troubles. After a moment, she couldn't help but add a little to the moment.

"Either that—" she laughed, "Or just hitch that skirt up a little and see how far it gets her!"

Smoke himself got a hearty laugh out of that.

Of course, most of this was not serious or meant hurtfully; it was simply idle banter between a pair of typical teenagers—despite all their unusual quirks, Who were, of course, very much in love, which increased the effect further.

There was a lull in the laughter. Smoke cleared his throat and looked away. Blackfire blushed crimson, and suddenly became very interested with the wooden, whitewashed floorboards of the room.

"… Hope Cy knows I was just foolin', about Ghost." Smoke said gruffly.

Blackfire looked up, one eyebrow raised curiously. "… Huh…?"

"Eh… I said somethin' a little while ago. About how I'm scared Ghost's fear might just get the better of him one day. But… I don't think It came out how I meant it." The feeling, stong regret, though not quite guilt, was evident in his voice.

"I'm sure he knows you meant it well." She cooed, her improving mood evident in her voice as she began moving on all fours towards him on the cot, eventually leaning over onto him with her arms around his neck.

"Yeah… yeah, I hope so." He said with a deep sigh.

… Blackfire broke off and looked out the window again, turning her back to him briefly. "… I think the rain's picking back up. For our sakes, as well as Raven's…. we have to find and kill this thing soon." The unmistakable lines of worry were beginning to spread across her face again.

Deciding the counteract before it could get much worse, Smoke moved quickly: in a moment, he was positioned behind her on his knees, his long and slender—albeit slightly calloused—fingers kneading her shoulders, shoulderblades, back, and the nape of her neck. For a split second, she gasped aloud and tensed up. … Then, with a soft sound akin to a purr, she slumped over onto the cool window and allowed him to go about his work.

"Don't be so worried." He insisted. "I got enough firepower to rival Soviet Russia here, Ok? We can take this thing."

"Mm…. y-yeah…. Take…. Mmmm…." She was oblivious at this point.

"Hehehe. Well… maybe I ought to go up top; talk things over with Zero, in case that thi---." He said, stopping and starting to get up.

He was abruptly yanked back down. "You're not going anywhere… now start rubbing again… Mmm…"

* * *

"… Guys… is it just me, or is this… maybe… like…… slightly suspicious…?" Beast Boy astutely observed, pointing out the window of the T-Sub. 

… A large rock structure, rather like a small mountain or a large hill, jutted out of the sandy sea-bed stretched below them. In the jagged, chipped face of the rock, there was a crevice—massive and dark, pitch black within. However, long, cylindrical grooves ran along it's surface in serpentine patterns, as though something, something massive, had entwined itself around it briefly before slithering inside.

"…… Whatever gave you that idea…?" Raven said flatly, rolling her azure eyes.

"Cy… get Zero on the radio…" Robin said quickly, flipping a few dials on the luminous control board beneath his arms. "And don't get to close."

Cyborg popped open a panel on the board and removed a small receiver attached to a wire, handing it to Robin as he pressed a small, square button with green tint. "You got it."

As Robin took it and began to call for Zero, Beast Boy leaned over to Raven. "Hey… since when does Zero have a radio…?"

She shrugged. "Cy knew we couldn't all fit in here, and we needed to keep in touch. He put a radio in Zero's cabin—battery powered; no electricity—tuned to receive our signal, even at the bottom of the ocean…"

"Hey… Zero! Sub-Zero! Do you hear me, over?" Robin asked calmly. But there was no immediate answer only static.

Starfire shook her head from the rear seat, slumping glumly. "Do you think they are all right up there…?"

Cy snorted. "Girl, I'm more worried about us down here, to be honest."

A long paused while Cyborg began slowly maneuvering a bit farther away from the crevice in the rocks, trying not to make any sudden movements; Star kept a close eye on the motion-sensors overhead to check for any movement other than their own…

Beast Boy bent over to Raven again. "Hey…"

"What now?"

He flinched somewhat, but didn't back down. "… You know, you never really told us right out… What's up with you and Ghost?" His toothy grin was more than enough proof he already knew. But since when did that stop him…?

She scowled, eye sparking slightly with black sparks. "This is neither the time nor the place…"

"Aww, come on. I think it's pretty obvious by now…" He said with a slightly suggestive look, letting his small fangs protrude.

"Then why are you asking?" She snapped back quietly, rapidly losing patience. "What makes you think it's your business?"

"What…? Is it against the law to be happy for someone...?" He said simply.

"……." She faltered, but was saved from the need to retort when Zero's voice, scratchy and faint, came over Robin's receiver suddenly.

"Hey… Hey, y'all, you guys… are ya there?"

"We're here." Robin confirmed. "Do us a favor. You're just above us, and slightly ahead. Drop anchor and stay where you are; we might need some help shortly…"

"Huh? Why?"

"… 'Cause I think we just found the proverbial Hornet's Nest. And we're going in."

"You realize… this has 'trap' written all over it…" Cyborg said doubtfully.

"I know. I never said we were going in the front way."

… He got a handful of confused looks.

"…. We're going to blast through the back. Hit this thing in the ass so hard, it'll think twice before messing with us again."

Zero's voice came over the comm channel one last time. "Man… I like the way you think, _Mon Capitaine_!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**ZOMG! I'm not dead! XD **

**I apologize for not updating in... what... like, a year...? Well, maybe not that long. But still, FAR too long. School's been eating up a lot of my time; particularly Chemistry and Algebra--numbers kick my ass. Gah! But anyway, I'm slowly getting a handle on the situation, and so, I'm gradually regaining more and more time to work on my writing. And yet, I have to ask myself if it's good or bad that I have a hard time keeping it serious for more than a moment; just having to toss in a joke here and there. Perhaps it ruins the drama, Hehehe. Anywayz... I won't insult the reader's intelligence any more than I already have with my vague rambling, so's, once again: Thank you for reading and please, REVIEW!! P.S. working as I speak--or is it type?--on Part Two of this chapter! Should be up, like, quickly.**

**--_Count Le Madphantom_...**


	29. Chapter Twenty Three, Part Two

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Twenty Three, Part Two**_

"I feel kinda bad… Mom always said to knock before you came in." Beast Boy yawned in a half-joking voice. "… But then again, I guess that doesn't exactly apply to caves with sea monsters living in them, now does it?"

"Oh, sure it does." Cy said dryly. He flipped open a glass casing on the armrest of his seat, and flipped a small, ornate lever within it. … Soon, there was a muffled rumbling of gears and mechanical systems as the far left and far right 'wings' of the sub, jutting out at the sides, folded slightly into a V-shape as if on hinges, displaying a row of shimmering lights. The pointed, conical protrusions began to spin like drills for a few moments, then stopped abruptly, flashing with light. POP! They flipped themselves open to reveal a pair of wicked looking, pointed torpedoes.

Cyborg grinned. "All right, Fishface. Knock knock…"

A small monitor screen flickered to life in front of him, and a flashing reticule, shaped like a crosshair, materialized at the center of the screen as a joystick-like apparatus jutted upwards as though spring-loaded. Cy took a hold of it, and slowly, carefully slid the reticule to the center of the craggy cavern's backside, maneuvering the submarine at an angle.

_'Scanning… scanning…. Buffering, 32... Scanning……'_ A loud buzz. _"Structural Integrity Compromised; structural weaknesses detected in stone structure."_ A glowing arrow blinked into the picture, pointing out a precise section of rock wall. Cy moved the crosshairs accordingly…

He opened the tip of the joystick like a lid, and mashed the hidden button there with his metallic thumb.

**WHOOSH!**

A pair of torpedoes, jagged-edged and fitted with large propellers on the back, were loosed simultaneously from their ports, and quickly tore through the murky waters at the cave's thick exterior; a frothing trail of bubbles and foam was left momentarily behind them, such was their speed, until they finally struck the cavern a moment later.

The explosion was massive. There was, of course, no fire as they were underwater, but there was a blinding flash of light and a strangely muffled bang, like firecrackers going off under a lid of some sort. Moments later, sections of the cavern's back began collapsing into themselves and crumbling off, revealing a huge hole leading down, down, down ever deeper into a black abyss…

"All right. Hang onto your Asses, y'all…." Cy muttered in a semi-joking, semi-literal manner as he took a tight hold of the steering controls in front of him.

Smoke's voice echoed across the radio receiver. "Say… if you guys are going in there, what are we supposed to do? Wait up here; let y'all have all the fun?"

Raven glanced at a topographical scan of the cavern's interior that Cy brought up on a monitor screen nearby. "It looks like the entire thing isn't flooded… there's dry ground in there?"

"What? Can't be; it's at the bottom of the ocean…"

"I know. But sea monsters can't be either, right?" She said flatly.

"…… Point taken. But what does this have to do wi—"

Robin continued where she'd left off. "Cyborg can drop us off on the first bit of dry ground we find; then, he can go and pick you and the others up."

A long pause; then… "…. A'ight. Sounds like a plan to me. Smoke, out."

_**A BIT LATER…**_

"Look Dawg; it ain't gonna bite you…" Cyborg groaned. Zero, halfway down the rope ladder that dangled from the deck of his ship, had paused and begun warily poking the T-Sub with his sword as one might do a foreign object.

"… Are you… quite sure this thing's safe?" He said doubtfully. It looked… rather like a fancy, floating casket to him; especially considering he'd always been taught the objective of sailing was to remain ABOVE water.

"Look… It's fine!" Smoke hollered down at him, shaking his head whilst Blackfire and Terra tried to suppress laughter. "Most of the time, they even come back up _intact_!" This set the both of them off, howling with hysterical laughter as they watched Sub-Zero's already pale face turn another few shades of white.

Cyborg groaned, knowing full well that any reservations the Knight may have had were just multiplied twofold. "Come on; if Jinx was here now, she'd be ashamed."

"If Jinx were here now, I'd be hiding behind her…" Zero muttered crossly to himself.

"What was that?"

"Erm, nothing!"

Blackfire and Terra, having recovered somewhat from their laughing fit—though Terra, in particular, was nearly in tears—decided to nip the problem in the bud. Terra leaned over the side and pointed off into the horizon. "Hey! Hey, What's that?"

Zero turned and blinked confusedly. "… What?"

Blackfire abruptly grabbed the ladder and whipped it like one does a wet towel. Zero went flying upwards in a wide arc, yelling at the top of his lungs, before he finally landed in the T-Sub with a massive clank and a French curse.

Terra and Blackfire, both laughing their asses off once again and Smoke, laughing the loudest, filed into the T-Sub and went to rejoin the others, who were already inside the cavern…

* * *

The group was reunited once again, on the bank of a strange, undersea grotto. The T-Sub floated tranquilly off to the side, amongst some jagged rocks and floating weeds, as they looked around in wonder.

The sand beneath their feet was gray, the color of ash, but was strangely moist; the dim light that permeated the cavern—strange that light should be present at the bottom of the ocean, but it came from somewhere—reflected off of its surface as though it had been freshly oiled. The walls were smooth stone, dripping with water and sometimes covered lightly with a layer of moss or weeds. The only path forward lay in a single craggy trail directly in front of them; to their sides, there was only rock wall, and to the rear, only water.

"… I do not like the appearance of this area. It is… unnerving…" Starfire said slowly, unable to suppress a shiver. "… And to think that beast is hiding in here somewhere!"

"It's not in the water." Cyborg said matter-of-factly. "Something that big would have generated enormous alterations in the flow of the water, and everything looked normal on the T-Sub's diagnostic charts."

"So you're saying, it's further into the cave…?" Beast Boy asked nervously, suddenly a lot more hesitant to keep going.

"Most likely. If he ain't, then he must be somewhere else altogether. And somehow, I don't think that's likely. This is the perfect spot for it to hide; and the only cave like this for who knows how far."

"… We should search a little farther in. Just go slow, and above all: Stay. Together." Robin said firmly. "… If we get separated in here, we're as good as done for."

"You heard the Man." Cy said, activating the integrated spotlight in his shoulder. "Let's go, Everybody."

Between Robin's flashlight, Cyborg's shoulderlight, and the tactical lights mounted on Smoke's revolvers, they managed to make their through the dim cavern. It was, as already stated, not the most inviting area possible. In fact, it was downright eerie. The sound of drifting waters, echoed and multiplied by the resonant rock structures, created a whispery hiss that was constant, and the sounds of shifting rocks and dripping droplets occurred at random intervals; sometimes distant and soft, sometimes nearby and deafening. These combined sounds, taken as one effect, created the illusion of groaning and gnashing of teeth all around them…

"…. (_Cough, cough_)…"

Smoke and Terra turned to see Beast Boy hacking and coughing hard as he walked, clutching his chest. They stopped quickly to help him, and the others turned as well.

"Hey… you all right?" Smoke asked, blinking.

"… Y-yeah… just… stuffy down here." Beast Boy said hoarsely. It was true. The air was musty, having not touched the surface of the ocean for countless years, and being permanently imbued with a thick, humid mist.

"We can stop and rest for a moment, if you need it." Robin said quickly.

"N-no… I'm all right." He said, attemptcooing a grin, though he still cleared his throat loudly and banged his chest. "I'll be fine. Let's just… keep going…"

… In their concern for their friend, the Titans didn't notice a shadow far above them, perched among the stalactites, that had been following them all this time. As they moved on, further down the pathway, it leapt and glided or swung after them…

* * *

"Hello….? Hello?" Jinx called, wringing water from the sleeve of her dress; it puddled itself on the floor below her. "…. Hey! Where is everybody?"

Her voice echoed through the lobby of Titan's Tower, but there was no response.

Mammoth, Gizmo, and Shimmer—the latter somewhat sulky looking—stood behind her. They were back from their trip, and their bags were already stacked neatly against the wall… they had more urgent matters, at hand, however. They'd encountered a major storm on the way back, and it hadn't quit. In fact, it seemed to become the most severe and stable just above Jump City—a massive maelstrom that hung over the city like a specter. They'd had a good view of it on the way back, looming especially above Titan's Tower, and pouring rain and hail.

… More importantly, the Titans were gone. But to where?

"… I don't think they're home… and it gives me the creeps…" Gizmo squeaked, pointing out the dimmed lights and drawn curtains—as though they weren't painfully obvious enough already. "Maybe we ought to just wait for them to come back."

"Sure…" Mammoth grunted, and then added sternly… "… As long as a certain someone… behaves themselves." He said, nodding towards his temperamental sister.

Shimmer huffed sulkily and didn't respond.

"Now, Sis, I'm tellin' ya; they ain't so bad. Just hang around 'em a little and you'd like 'em, same as anybody." Mammoth insisted gruffly. "And you're gonna apologize for breakin' in the other day, if it kills ya."

"But there's something bothering me…" Jinx persisted, turning her worried gaze towards the doorway. "…… Where would they have gone with this weather…?"

* * *

It had been a long ride. A VERY long ride. But somehow, Kitten had managed to get Voltaire and herself to Jump City—as per his request, when he'd finally swallowed his pride and asked—without getting them both killed with her erratic driving. She'd made a few uncomfortable advances… most of which he'd tried to ignore… but that girl was simply creepy.

For instance: Voltaire could have sworn she kept glancing back in the rear-view mirror, constantly even… which was natural enough, save for the fact that she'd been gazing, not at traffic, but at him. All this was understandable—he considered himself a fairly good-looking guy, except perhaps for his definite devilishness. But he'd never seen anyone with quite such an unnerving stare. Furthermore, she'd taken to calling him—dare he think it again—Volty-Poo. He shuddered.

After a bit of nervous thanking—and many backwards glances on her part—she'd dropped him off at Titans' East Tower and driven back towards town, leaving him at the doorway to the great building, in the rain with only his coat to shield him.

… Good riddance, he thought irritably.

He raised his fist towards the door, and hesitated a moment… the metal looked thick and potentially painful to bang one's fist against. Thus, he was relieved when he found a doorbell nearby and quickly mashed it with his bony, crooked forefinger—which, with its long blackish nail looked more like a claw.

A light, almost musical tone was heard muffled within. A few minutes passed that seemed like forever. He tapped his foot impatiently; it splashed in a puddle of rainwater that, even now, ran down the length of his body. At least the hail had slackened…

Finally, the door opened and he was treated to a glance at a dark-skinned African-American girl with two bobs of black hair and a yellow-and-black striped outfit. "Hi! You must be here for the job interview!" She said, almost ecstatically. "Come in; we thought for a moment no one would show up for a few minutes, here..."

He blinked, somewhat surprised she had not commented on his… appearance…. He then remembered with a jolt that he was wearing his coat and cloak, with hood deployed. He started to respond, but could only yelp as she grabbed his hand and yanked him in, shutting the door.

… His arrival must have been a sort of catalyst, because he was the first in a series.

* * *

"… Did you hear that…?" Beast Boy gulped, shaking bodily and wide-eyed.

"I didn't hear nothin'." Cyborg responded flatly.

"I swear, I heard something…!"

"You're getting nervous. Just don't let it go to your head."

Robin, still leading the group, shuddered a little bit himself, but quickly shook it off and made a gesture to the rest of the group with his hand, signaling to stay close. He said calmly: "…. Try not to make so much noise… we don't know where that… creature… is."

… They continued on. Suddenly, a rock creaked and cracked overhead, as though responding to a shifting of weight, and the sound echoed down to the Titans. Everyone's head snapped up.

For a moment, they stood stone-still. Eventually, Cyborg leaned back a bit, tilting his shoulder-mounted light, and the beam of illumination rose up, revealing the jet black ceiling. Strange though, that the texture was slightly more velvety than stone… and it seemed to be wriggling…

Instantly, it was upon them. Bats. A swarm of screeching bats. They swooped down in legions from the ceiling and divebombed the titans erratically, causing them to cry out and drop to the ground; Robin dropped his flashlight and Smoke's shotgun hit the ground, going off inadvertently and blowing a chunk out of the wall. Within seconds, suddenly as it had begun, the bats were gone, having swarmed to other parts of the undersea cave.

…. They slowly looked up.

"… Damn…. Scared the shit out of me…" Smoke groaned, reaching for his dropped gun to reload it.

"Ack! ARGH! I think there's one in my hair! Get it out; GET IT OUT!" Zero yelped panickedly, waving his head around wildly and clawing at his scalp as he leapt up as though scalded.

Robin stared blankly, getting up, and yanked a small shard of stone out of his hair. "… There is nothing… in… your… hair…" He snapped.

"……….." Zero looked at the stone. "…. Right. Of course. I was just testing you; making sure you were alert."

"… I should smack you."

Zero began to retort, up until… **_CRACK_**!

Everyone froze, no pun intended in Zero's case.

… _CREAK_! **CRACK!**

Everyone's head slowly turned…

A tiny fissure was creeping downwards from the dent Smoke's gun had blasted in the wall… it branched out, lengthened, became thicker and more gaping… it began to spread to the ground beneath their feet.

Raven was the first to grasp the meaning of this. "……. No…"

But before anyone could react, the ground split up the middle like a sheet of paper, apparently unstablized somehow, and swallowed them up with a collective scream. There was a fall, a tumbling through pitch-black space where the air was thick and wet with dust and mist; it was stagnant and hot, not having stirred for no-one-knows-how-long. They almost, considering their location, expected to land in water… so it was quite a shock to hit dry, dusty ground. There was a thump, a puff of dust from the ages, a few assorted groans, and then silence.

"…. Ow… I think I broke something that wasn't supposed to break…" Terra groaned.

"I would have flown, but… I was not given enough time to react properly." Starfire lamented. "The thought never presented itself to me…"

"And that's… why we're stupid…" Blackfire groaned, sitting up and attempting—to limited effect—to suppress the pounding in her head.

"Whoa… It wasn't that bad." Beast Boy said with a shrug, sitting up himself. "I landed on a pillow or something…"

"What?" Robin demanded. "That's not right…"

"I swear! It's soft and everything; a box of padding or something…"

Cy muttered grumpily and switched on this flashlight. Everyone gasped and stared at Beast Boy with horror. He stared back, unnerved. "…. What?" He looked down… and yelped, leaping up.

… He had landed in an open coffin.

Beast Boy brushed himself off frantically, yelping in a panic: "Get it off me; get it off! Yuck! I smell dead people! Shit!"

There was a sudden hiss of wind—from apparently nowhere, as there was no opening to the outside, lest water escape in. Then, a blinding glow of light as torches—row upon row of antique torches and lanterns—suddenly sparked, glimmered, and flashed to life. The heroes stared around, stunned.

They were in a sort of chamber. Protruding slabs along the walls held coffins. Numerous, countless concrete coffins all open and devoid of life, though some held stacks of bones or wooden chests. The floor was covered in velvety red carpet that didn't quite prevent feeling the pebbles and rough stone below; torches lined the walls between caskets.

… At the far end of the chamber, the wall split into an open arch, massive in size, and just beyond that arch was what looked like a large lake, perhaps drawing its water somehow from the ocean outside.

"… I had vondered vhen you all vould arrife. You haffe certainly kept me waitink…" A thickly accented voice echoed from the opposite end of the room. "… Mein pet haz been vaiting, too. He iz eager to finish vhat he started."

Everyone pivoted around with a gasp, and saw a tall, yet extraordinarily lean man—perhaps early thirties or late twenties in age—with silver-gray hair in a pair of long ponytails and a beard; he wore a black suit of armor that shone unnaturally in the dim torchlight, and a formal red cape covered his back. He propped on a cane with a skull mounted atop, and grinned, displaying several rows of feral fangs between his red eyes and pointed ears.

"… Baron Von Magnus, Arch-General of Lord-Trigon's Demon Horde, and Assistant Commander of Lord Myntull's minions, at your zervice!"

…. There was a long awkward pause.

Cyborg muttered, "You've gotta be shitting me."

The Baron, such as he was, narrowed his gaze disdainfully. "I don't know vhat your gastrointeztinal functions haff to do vith this, nor do I vant to know. But, vhat I do know iz… it iz time for you to die."

And with that, he gave a quick flick—half of his cane unscrewed itself like a pen top, revealing a curved shamshir-like blade within. "Haff at you!"

Robin blinked at the demon charging at them. "He's crazy. We've got him outnumbered."

Magnus, his black cape flapping behind him, sneered and kept coming, fully aware of the remark. He closed the gap between himself and Robin fairly quickly, but when Robin took a swing at him with his staff, he ducked and knocked the Boy Wonder back several feet with his sword—thankfully, Robin's suit was durable or else he might have been sliced through.

A tremendous volley of shots rang out, and in instants Cyborg's sonic beams were hurtling towards the creepy young man. He had no time to dodge, and they connected, exploding point-blank and sending him flying back into a wall; he thudded off and several segments of the wall fell over onto him. Tendrils of dark energy soon began to slither from the pile of rocks…. Within moments, he'd freed himself and hurled a few black rays of magic at the group.

… There was a rumble, and a boulder—manipulated by Terra—moved itself into the path of the blasts; they popped harmlessly on its surface like dark firecrackers. Having served its purpose, the boulder launched itself at Baron Magnus like a living projectile…

He simply glared and lifted his blade. There was a flash of silver, and a metallic clang, and the boulder split down the middle, dropping harmlessly to both sides.

"You children annoy me… Zo! I vould like you to meet MY children!"

He cupped his pale hand to his mouth and whistled shrilly.

… A deafening sound suddenly filled the cavern. Chittering, chattering, wailing screeches; the sounds of small, rabid animals. From the same opening in the roof they had fallen from came the bats from before, grouped into one cohesive mass and hurling themselves in a thick line at the Titans.

They swooped in an inverted arc, ready to tear them limb-from-limb, but a superheated blast of emerald-green light incinerated a large chunk of them and scattered the rest. Before they could regroup, a similar assault was launched with crackling purple bolts.

"Stupid flying rats…" Blackfire muttered, hurling as many spheres of energy as quickly as she could. "Star, aim for X'hal's sake, don't just blast randomly!"

"I am trying!" Star said, her massive eyebeam blasts less precise—though arguably more effective—than her sister's bolts at the moment.

The bats fluttered away from the siege of energy attacks and regrouped in the shadows, joined by more and bigger vermin—but as fast as they came, just as quickly were they blown apart by Blackfire's bolts; the violet spheres connecting and sparking, splattering the bats into inky black goo.

"It iz no use." The Baron said smugly. "Zey are endless, are they not? Now… you shall zee vhy—"

He was cut off when his left arm exploded in a cloud of buckshot, splattering into the same black inky substance as the bats. The sound of a shotgun reloading sounded behind him.

"Man, you really ought to watch who's comin' up behind you." Smoke grunted, getting ready to fire off another round, raising the barrel to aim at Magnus's face.

"You arrogant mortal FOOL!"

The stump, still seething with dark liquid, morphed itself into a tentacle shape and lashed Smoke in the neck, knocking him over with a painful crack. It lashed out again, and slapped the gun away, clattering across the ground out of his reach.

Terra and Beast Boy had joined Star and Blackfire in holding off the horde of bats, now swarming the entire chamber. Terra launched large chunks of rock with deadly accuracy, and B.B. had changed himself with a green flash into a Pteranodon, pecking at nearby bats with his bony beak and tail whipping large groups, scattering them.

Just in time for Smoke, Robin, Sub-Zero, and Ghost all rushed Magnus at once—unfortunately, he still held his cane-blade in his good arm.

One would think three-on-one would be rather overwhelming odds.

… Oh well.

Blocking a staff blow with his tentacle appendage here, parrying a frozen rapier blade with his sword there, and kicking away a katana at the same time, he proved more than a match for the three. No matter how rapid their simultaneous attacks, they couldn't overwhelm him.

"I zay, you are quite ze active onez, yez? Vell, no matter…" He chuckled.

Without warning, he turned a rapid 360, swinging his tentacle as he did so and knocking all three of them to the ground.

"Grr… You just got insanely lucky…" Zero snarled from the ground. "FREEZE!"

Sure enough, he hurled a freeze ray that almost nicked him—but bats swarmed in front of him like a living shield and took the blow, leaving him unharmed.

"God, we got to do something about those damn ba—" Robin started, but he was cut off by a scream.

The three looked over where Beast Boy, Starfire, Terra, and Blackfire were cowering on the ground, bats circling them in a vortex of moving shadows and drawing in ever closer, ready to tear them apart like winged piranhas.

… An answer clicked in Ghost's mind. He dropped his gold katana and instead, threw his baggy sleeves out, eyes shining. In moments, his trademark locust swarm—which hadn't dulled since its last use—emerged and began flying in a buzzing, red and black mass towards the bats. … There was a screeching sound, terrible to hear, and numerous little white bones began dropping to the ground as the insects devoured the bats.

Magnus moved to impale Ghost on his blade—but his body lit up with several thousand volts of electricity. Smoke, recovered from his winding, had grabbed his ankle and lit him up like a Christmas tree.

"Guys, now!"

In moments, Robin and Zero had broken into a run; Robins slashed off the remaining arm with bladed boomerangs, and Zero thrust his rapier through the Baron's gut with all the strength he could muster. Then, a combined kick from the both of them knocked him back, black slime gushing from his arm stump and forming a tentacle even as he slid; Zero's rapier was knocked back out from the force, and the Knight recovered it.

"Imbeciles… you haff accomplished nothink." He chuckled, apparently unbothered by the fact both his arms had been severed. … The remaining bats in the chamber began to flock to him…

As he stood, the Titans regrouped, watching cautiously for his next tactic.

The creatures swarmed him and perched upon his body at all angles, covering him like a suit of armor; not even an inch of him could be seen. Then, suddenly, they began to liquidize… melt into the same black sludge seen before…

… They merged, and became one tangible mass; the resulting blob of shadowy gloop began to expand and take on a new shape…

WAM! A massive, jagged wing jutted out from one side… it unfurled, becoming hard and leathery… BAM! The same thing happened on the other side. The entire mass began to bubble and steam…

Then, it was… as if someone had detonated a bomb. An explosion of heat and noise shook the room, and a gaseous shockwave of noxious fumes knocked the Titans to the ground; every torch went out and the room went pitch-black.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I heard something…" Gizmo insisted. "Something…. Right.. down… here!"

"You're imagining stuff." Mammoth said with a deep sigh. "It's this weather. Makes ya think all oogity-boogity like, like something's gonna get you. Now come on, before Ji—"

"I don't care what Jinx says!" The young inventor snapped. "Look!"

He leapt and tugged Mammoth down to his level by his orange goatee; he pointed.

… The front door to Titans Tower was standing wide open in the storm, forced open somehow.

Two pairs of footprints, one large and lanky looking, rather clumsy in its pattern… the other small and evenly spaced between steps, with a brisk, straight line… both muddy prints leading in from the door and to the elevator…

"… Somebody's in here that shouldn't be!" Giz hissed.

"Maybe the others?" Mammoth gulped.

"No Way, Peabrain! They would have just knocked. That door's been forced open, and besides, there's only two trails! We gotta tell Jinx…"

* * *

Ghost sat up with a groan. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust… but they never did. He saw only a dimly lit blur of blacks, grays, and whites around him… he glanced down with a shaky groan.

… His monocle was gone, lost on the ground somewhere, but he couldn't see well enough to find it.

… He was as good as blind.

His head snapped up as a massive impact shook the ground. He gulped and began trembling violently as his impaired sight vaguely made out the outline of something big, winged, with massive pointed ears and an open jaw, dripping with venom. The Baron had transformed. He looked around in a panic, and saw the dim outlines of his friends—all still on the ground, either knocked unconscious, or already d—… No, no he wouldn't think that. He refused.

He began backing up with a few gasps and groans, pushing himself back with his feet and elbows, ignoring the sting of rocks below him.

The creature let out a sinister chuckle and stomped towards him.

"You are lucky, Mein Friend." The creature snarled in a deep, warped version of his previous voice. "… Before I feast on your friends, I have somethink special in mind for you. Yez… very, vonderfully special indeed." He stomped forward again, prompting more frantic scrambling from Ghost. "… I von't kill you. No! Inztead, I vill give you Life! Life, forever! You vill never die! … Although, before too long, you may vish I had killed you."

He opened his mouth—yellowed, jagged, serrated fangs popped forth like so many switchblade knives; greenish and pale-gold poisons dripped down, mingled with filthy gray saliva as the torchlight from the freshly relit torches reflected from the tusklike teeth.

Without warning, he lunged forth in light-speed—though perhaps shadow-speed would be a more descriptive term—and sank the massive molars into Ghost's chest. Instantly, he screamed and blacked out.

* * *

It wasn't long before Smoke found himself running away from a swooping, batlike monstrosity with Ghost slung over his shoulder—strangely not bleeding from his chest, despite the enormous bite—like a sack of potatoes. As if coming out of a trance, the Titans had awoken simulteaneously only to find the monster—presumably the Baron's true form—standing over Ghost, teeth dug into his chest.

"Catch!" He tossed Ghost upwards, where he was caught by Star and Blackfire, who each grabbed one arm and easily ferried him a safe distance away.

"Come here, leetle Mouze! I haff a suprize for you!" The beast cackled in it's grotesque, throaty screech. "SONIC BOOM!"

It opened its mouth and let out a deafening shriek. A blast of clearly visible, glowing soundwaves fired out at the speed of sound and shattered the very ground Smoke stood on, sending him flying forwards onto his gut, hands clapped over his ears.

He let out another Hellish wail and fired off another volley of sound waves, this time knocking the Titans back, save for Star and Blackfire, both of whom were still crouched protectively around Ghost.

"Nothing they're doing seems to work…" Raven muttered. "Maybe… this." Recovering from the sonic assault, she loosed a geyser of dark energy spouting at the monster's mouth. There was a shadowy puff of smoke, and in moments the creature fell backwards, wings twitching and chest coughing and hacking.

The creature looked up just in time to see a green hawk above its head…

In a flash, it became a large, particularly corpulent green hippo that came crashing down like a living boulder. … This wasn't good for the beast.

_**BAM!**_

The hippo transformed yet again into a small hyena which promptly cackled and dashed off, leaving the bat monster fairly worse for wear, as indicated by the little chibi-demons fluttering in circles around its head.

"You know what they say…" Smoke grunted as he got back up, dusting his black leather coat off. "Where there's Smoke… there's FIRE, Baby!" His mechanical arm morphed into flamethrower phase and, taking aim, spat a stream of napalmesque embers onto the downed demon, setting its entire dark body ablaze.

… Insult was added to injury as the flames were doused with a beam of frothing, foaming water, courtesy of a pale warrior.

"Too hot?" Zero said as he approached; the creature writhed and screeched. "Maybe some good ol' AC'll do ya some good… FREEZE!" He wound up in a pitcher-like motion and fired a powerful freeze beam at the creature—a flash of blue light and an eruption of powdery white snow ensued, and when it died down the monster was encased in frigid crystalline ice.

The knight stepped back and admired his handiwork. "One superdemon, on ice, comin' right up."

"And I got just the thing to spice it up." Robin said. With a flick of his gloved appendage, his hand flashed to his belt and whipped out a small, cubic device with an LCD screen. He gave a quick flourish and tossed it onto the ice; it latched on like a suction-cup. … 30:00 came into display on the screen, and began ticking downward, second by second.

"Everybody, GET DOWN!"

They didn't have to be told twice.

**Whoa, quite a lot happening, huh? It gets confusing even for me, the Writer, so I understand if you're a bit, '… what?' at the moment. Don't worry. It'll clarify up soon enough. In the mean time, I've finally created some forums of my own. If you want to add your two cents—or two bucks, whichever—simply go and post. In the mean time, reviews are love, people; so stay groovy and dish out the reviews. **

**_--L'Count M.P. _**


	30. Chapter Twenty Three, Part Three

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost—Chapter Twenty-Three, Part Three**_

When the smoke and ash from the blast cleared a few minutes later, nothing was left of the beast but a smoldering pile of dust and bones. The creature, the Baron of Hell, as he had seemed to be, was no more. After such a violent skirmish—which had been rather brief, though it seemed like an eternity—it was only fitting that the Titans had so fully secured a victory.

However, there were a couple more pressing matters to attend to.

Firstly, they had slain the Master. Now, where was the pet? Where was The Leviathan, Demon of the Sea? It was still hiding out somewhere, and no doubt it was angry at its master's demise.

And secondly, Ghost. The massive bite had, at the time of injury, visibly rent his chest asunder with venomous fangs—and yet, now, he was unharmed, as though my magic. His clothes were intact, and his tanned skin was smooth and unblemished. However, all wasn't entirely well; he was still very much unconscious at the moment, rendering his friends—particularly Raven—very alarmed. This was made even worse by the fact that all of the Titans had been unconscious, and had not witnessed the injury. They only knew he'd been knocked out somehow…

"Weird…" Robin muttered, shaking his head and running his hand across Ghost's bare chest. They'd removed his shirt in an attempt to treat any wounds, only to find there no longer seemed to be any. "…. I don't get it. He's not bleeding. There are no bruises. His clothes aren't damaged. … It's like nothing… nothing ever even…"

"… Touched him…" Finished Starfire simply. She shook her head. "I am still not comfortable with this situation at all. We must take him back home at once!"

Blackfire scowled. "And leave that monster here alive? We have to do what we came for before we do anything!"

Star hesitated. "But what… what if he—"

"He'll be fine." Her sister said bluntly. "Like Robin said, he's not even hurt. I bet he just passed out because he was so scared, poor thing."

Cyborg patted Raven's shoulder—she was kneeling beside Ghost, staring at him silently.—and nodded slowly to himself as he placed his metallic finger on Ghost's neck.

"Well… his pulse does seem to be stable." He pressed an ear slowly to Ghost's chest, which still rose and fell steadily and deeply. "And his breathing's perfectly normal… maybe that thing didn't attack him after all. Maybe he did just faint."

"…… I'm not… sure what to think…" Raven said slowly. "Why won't he wake up?"

Terra shook Ghost's shoulder lightly. "Hey… hey, wake up!" No response. "Hey! HEY!" She even tapped his forehead a few times, but he groaned softly and remained unconscious.

"Stand back." Zero said suddenly. "I've got an idea."

Terra backed off cautiously, and Zero hurled an aqua-blue sphere of energy that burst into a deluge of water upon contact, drenching Ghost's face—but still, he remained unaffected.

"Creepy…" Beast Boy said, poking him with his foot. "…. Almost like he's dead or somethi—"

He realized too late what he'd said and hastily added. "Of course, he isn't. I mean, we just heard him moan a little. And he's breathing."

"You wan' maybe I should zap him outta it?" Smoke asked, rubbing his hands together and producing sparks. His metallic fingers crackled dangerously.

"No, there's no need." Cyborg responded quickly. "He's already got a normal heartbeat… as far as I can tell, he's just…… asleep, basically."

"Well… if we're gonna find that critter…" Smoke started thoughtfully, "What are we going to do with him? We have to stick him somewhere safe…"

"You aren't honestly proposing we just leave him lying around alone and unconscious?" Raven said suddenly, snapping up from her reverie.

"Easy!" Smoke protested in a defensive tone, "I just meant… like, I dunno, stick him in one of these coffins or put him behind a rock or something. I mean, we can't carry him. And doesn't look like he's gonna wake up anytime soon…"

"We are NOT leaving him in the dark, alone, in a coffin. He'd be terrified if he woke up!" She said, shaking her head firmly.

"He'd be terrified anyway…" Smoke said wryly, shrugging. "S'just his nature."

The discussion went on… all the while, Ghost lay undisturbed.

... He dreamed.

* * *

Takeshi Nobunaga—no relation to the famed general; name coincidental—had always lived fairly happily, and fairly safely with his elderly grandparents. The small Asian village—probably Japanese from the looks of it—was politically controlled, _de facto_ at least, by the nearby Lord and his court—all of whom resided in the immense palace in the woods. The village itself, on the other hand, had various stores, a Tavern where Takeshi's grandparents were hosts and innkeepers, and various houses of rustic nature clustered all about the area.

Takeshi was a young man, about sixteen, and was fairly typical. … Actually, not typical. Perhaps a bit odd.

Takeshi had never been on a hunt. He had never played with other kids in the woods or by the stream. He didn't train under any masters, unlike most young men who were eager to learn the skills of the warrior—though he had, without much success, attempted to teach himself a thing or two about the blade on his own.

In short, our fellow had never done much of anything, save run errands around town, help his grandparents run the tavern/inn, and generally kept to himself in the attic of the Tavern—which held a sleeping pallet, a battered chair and weather-beaten table, and had one round window with tattered curtains to the outside.

The small view to the outside this provided, however, was largely lost on the boy though. … His eyes, from a young age, had somehow developed cataracts of differing degrees, and he was totally blinded in one eye. The other, though functional, had very poor range and severe short-sightedness, making him as-good-as-blind.

This impeded him, though not as much as one might think. He had managed all right to memorize the number of steps to get down the street to the general store; the number of wooden wall-panels he should run his hands across to get to each cupboard in the storage room, and the distance between each step—these were, fortunately, equipped with a handrailing—to get down from the attic.

… Moving right along, the Lord who controlled—whether officially or via strongarm tactics—the village was not especially kind. He took care of the village, but always seemed highly paranoid and nervous about possible usurpation. He was mad with power, and his old senility only made things worse. He often imprisoned—and in history, had even occasionally executed—innocent members of the populace whom he had some how become convinced were out to overthrow his ironclad grip on the village.

… Of course, these threats had always been ludicrous and purely imagined.

…… Until now.

A group of youths—young men and older boys from in-town—had been secretly stockpiling as much as they could for a long time now. They hoarded anything they could get their hands on: weapons, armor, money, food, clothes, tools, supplies… They were difficult to trace or even recognize because they had no formal name or headquarters—though they DID routinely gather and store goods in a small eatery on the Northern edge of town.

All they had in common was one goal: to get rid of the demented Lord and drive him from his Palace in the Woods, far away and never to return.

… At the moment, Takeshi is seated at a small table in the rear corner of the aforementioned restaurant. Clad in a plain, dark blue kimono and sandals, he pecked rather wispily at his food—a side of fish grilled over an open flame and served over a wooden plate—and took a swig out of his small pottery bowl, simply decorated by knife-carved patterns. The tea within tasted slightly bitter, but still sweet overall. As for the fish, it was filling; that was all that mattered to him.

He was so absorbed in his meager meal, in fact, that he never noticed the tall, thin young man—sandy, light brown hair and yellowish eyes with dark skin and a fine muscletone—was approaching him from behind.

_WHOOSH!_ Before Takeshi could react, he was grabbed by the shoulders. Then, the taller boy used them as a mount and literally vaulted himself over his poor friend, right down into the seats opposite end of him. Takeshi yelped and jerked back, spilling hot tea all over his lap—prompting another squeal, slightly delayed.

The other young man burst into laughter.

Takeshi scowled and wiped himself off shakily as he eyed his brown-robed friend. "Nice to see you too, Ryuichi. You could have warned me."

"And miss a chance to scare the demons out of you?" Ryuichi teased. "I couldn't resist, what with you looking so forlorn and all. And how did you know it was me?" He continued. "You can barely see…"

Takeshi smiled wryly. "I smelt you."

The larger boy rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know I JUST got back from the stream."

Takeshi didn't miss a beat. "Ah, so THAT'S why you smell of fish! I thought that was my food."

They had a long hardy laugh. A waitress came over and brought Ryuichi his "usual"—a side of fried dumplings and some roast venison, with fresh water. She didn't have to take his order because he came here so much with his… 'group'…

, A long silence ensued.

Suddenly, Ryuichi's face took on a grim tone. "Takeshi, listen…… if anything happens, lay low."

He blinked. "Pardon…?"

"If anything gets out of hand around here, lay low… people are bound to have seen you with me, and I don't want you getting any part of what might happen to me." He said solemnly.

Ghost frowned. "You can't be thinking of going through with this… this madness…" He remembered the concealed room with the stock, and suddenly seemed to have lost his already-small appetite.

"I'm not thinking, Takeshi. I'm doing. WE'RE doing. And I just… want you to be safe."

"I'm more worried about you. I thought surely you'd have called this nonsense off already…"

Ryuichi banged the table with his fist, scowling and continuing in a low whisper. "Do you really WANT to go on living like this? Waiting for old man Kage to arrest one of us for no reason? To order embargos on the town for imaginary offenses?"

"No…… but I don't want to see my friends slaughtered like rats, either." Takeshi stammered softly.

Ryuichi began to retort, when suddenly:

"Pardon. … Is this seat taken? All the others are occupied…" A soft, girlish voice said hesitantly and somewhat shyly.

Their heads turned in tandem. … Almost immediately, Ryuichi's nose wrinkled with silent revolt, whereas Takeshi simply began fidgeting nervously.

"Oh, eh… um…. H-Haruko! I mean, Haruko-Sama! I mean, I mean… Your Ladyship!" Takeshi stammered, suddenly looking quite pale, in contrast to his usually tan and shadowy skin-tone. "T-To what do we owe the pleasure—I mean, honor! The honor!"

She stared perplexedly, while Ryuichi shot Takeshi a look of utter disgust. Then, she giggled lightly, in a trilling soprano tone, and shook her head. "Calm yourself! I just… came here to eat…" She sat down next to Takeshi, who went still paler.

"What? You have no slave-Chefs to boil your fancy noodles for you?" Ryuichi sneered. She flinched slightly.

… It was Haruko Shin. Kage Shin, the Lord of the palace, was her father. Ryuichi, understandably, had less than respect for her, whereas Takeshi found her rather harmless—and one to be respected, due to her royalty.

"Really now… Ryuichi…" Takeshi said softly, hesitantly.

"What? She's got some nerve, hasn't she?" He asked, speaking as though to ignore her. "Rich as she is, and coming in here, flaunting it in front of us poor old rustics!" He burst into a laugh that made Takeshi shake his head.

But still, it was undeniable. Their worn, plain kimonos of dull colors contrasted sharply to hers, which was flawless and embroidered in all colors and patterns imaginable. Her hair was in a tight bun and shone as though freshly-washed; it was decorated by an ornate, turtle-shell pin and a flower.

She smiled suddenly, and took a small piece of Takeshi's fish, which he no longer seemed to have an appetite for. She ate it daintily and stood up.

"I apologize for intruding." She said with a low bow. "Farewell." And with that, she was gone.

… Takeshi looked slightly put-out. "Now, see what you've done?"

"She's HIS Kin!" Ryuichi spat, referring to Lord Kage. "He's probably got her out spying on people."

"That's not true! She's spoken to me several times…" Takeshi protested softly.

"I Know. I think the little rat has… feelings for you…" He said with a shudder. "You have my pity."

Takeshi reached into his sash, and drew out a few yen, which he slapped on the table to pay for his meal. "That rat." He began. "Is a very well behaved young woman who is nothing like her father. Now, if you'll excuse me, Ryuichi…"

He went on his way as Ryuichi looked after him pensively.

* * *

"Uuuurgh… R…Ryui…chi… Haruko… Ryuichi…Haru……ko…"

… Ghost sat upwards with a jolt, his mind suddenly flooded with new clarity, as if struck by lightning.

But even as this deluge of new information barraged his mind, he was still more concerned about other matters. He looked around, and he was alone. He remembered being attacked by that monstrosity, but he didn't remember anything more—where were the others? Where was the monster?

He stumbled to his feet and began to trudge forward shakily, trying to keep alert whilst still allowing his brain to digest everything that had happened. He managed to find his monocle lying on the ground, thankfully undamaged, and as he put it on he was nearly overwhelmed by sudden clarity.

… He had to meet up with the others and figure out what was going on.

* * *

"I'm telling you, you're both nuts." Jinx groaned. "How could someone have forced open the door? They'd have to be as strong as _you_!" She said, pointing at Mammoth. She was blatantly ignoring the footprints, which she dismissively said 'barely looked like feet.'

"I know." He grunted. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Shimmer, who was with them, narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure your…" She paused and sniffed disdainfully. "… _friends_… didn't return?" Then, she muttered under her breath: "Good riddance if they didn't…"

Jinx chose to ignore her last comment and agree. "… It must have just been the door shorting out or something."

Gizmo, who had been snooping around outside, came back in soaked with rainwater but still looking pleased. "Oh yeah? Then why is this out here?" He held something up, and his friends squinted through the darkness.

… It was a bent crowbar.

* * *

_**MEANWHILE...**_

"Look… I don't think this is a good idea at all…"

"Silence, fool! Do you want them to hear us?"

Geoforce sighed and shrugged. "Man, I don't think anybody's here. So it don't matter, anyway, but… It ain't good that we just broke in like this…"

Ryand'r shook his head as they made their way through the dark room. "I must see my Sister at all costs. If you are so frightened, then leave."

Geoforce straightened up and stroked his scruffy chin for a moment. Then, with a shrug: "… Nah!"

"Why not?"

"Well… you can't just leave a friend hangin'. If this is so important to you, then… Heck, I'm in."

Ryand'r stopped dead at being addressed as a friend. He turned and looked strangely at Geoforce. Then turned back around and said:

"…… Thank you. Were it not for your miniscule intelligence and Earthling heritage, I would prepare an estate and title of Nobility for you immediately upon arrival home. I consider you my friend as well."

… Geo, having either missed or ignored the first bit, wiped a crocodile tear from his eye. "Aww… Thanks man… you really are a pal."

An awkward several minutes passed, and finally, frustration seemed to get to Ryand'r.

"…. I suppose… she is not here. All this for nothing." He sat down against a wall, looking rather dejected.

"Well. Then I guess we ought to wait." Geo said, trying to cheer him up. "She's bound to show up sooner or later, right?"

"I hope so. And I also hope my fears about her safety are unfounded…"

Geo cocked his head. "… You still talkin' about that monster you were talking about…? Your…?"

"My sister. My OTHER sister." He said, spitting the phrase out with disgust.

A pause.

"So… what, uh… what's she look like anyway…?" Geo asked in the tone of normal conversation. In truth, he was curious how monstrous she would look, judging by the picture Ryand'r painted of her.

Ryand'r answered grimly. "She is unnatural, hideous even… though she might look like a normal Tamaranean at first glance, you must look deeper. Our eyes shine and glimmer with the power of our heritage…" Ryand'r leaned into Geo's face, giving him a close look at his unnerving, solid-green eyes. "… Yet, hers are dull and listless, and a revoltingly dark color. Her hair, far from the bright, slightly curled locks we are known for, is straight as a bundle of needles, and ragged looking. Her fingernails are long, sharp, cruel…" He paused.

Geo gulped. "That bad, Huh?"

"Worse." Ryand'r said solemntly. "… 'Till now, I have only spoken of her outward ugliness… but the truly horrifying thing… is her heart. It is as dark as her hair, cold as a planet's moon, and as blackened as her very name. She is a creature twisted by hatred, no longer really even living—more like a machine, bent on nothing less than the utter destruction of my dear Sister, Koriand'r. When I returned home, I was informed by one of my servants, Galfore—who was leading the city at the time—that she had even made two separate attempts on my Sister's safety!"

"What happened…?" Geo ventured to ask. "I mean, why is she… uh…… how she is…?"

"I do not know." Ryand'r sighed. "She is eldest of the three. Koriand'r is in the middle, and I am the youngest—however, due to my being the only Son, I am rightful heir and true leader. However, I am often away on both business and pleasure outings, ranging from political meetings to adventures of sorts—I must confess I am a bit of a 'thrill seeker', if you must call it that. But the point is… I am rarely on Tamaran, so the next in line is Koriand'r—she, however, chooses to remain on Earth and so Galfore leads in my absence."

He paused, shaking his head. "… Ever since birth, many suspected there was something… off… about her… her unnatural appearance and the circumstances of her birth. However, she behaved quite normally, I understand, until she began to get older… by the time I was born, she was already quiet, bitter, contemptuous of others. I do not know why. But at this point, she is so dark and so angry as to be evil. She is a threat to herself and our entire planet, most notably my sister and I."

Silence, save for the sound of Geoforce rustling in his pockets absent-mindedly. Finally, he voiced his thoughts:

"…. Man… I shoulda asked Argent out…"

Ryand'r rolled his eyes. "Why did you not? She was right there."

"I don't know, Man! I mean… It's not something you can just DO, you have to like… prepare… I mean…. She's… she's way outta my league anyway; total goth hottie."

Ryand'r snorted in disgust. "You are pathetic. Back home, I would have women fawning over me at all times. And you cannot even bring yourself to display affection for ONE?"

"Easy for you to say, Dude… I mean…" He paused uncertainly. "Look at you! Big shot space-adventurer…. Got a sword, got armor, got wealth and power… good looks… er, I guess, for an alien, anyway—" Ryand'r stared indignantly at this point. "—and… a prince, to boot! Me? I'm nothin'. I drive a beat-up car, got almost no money, on the run from the law… two crazy parents and a sister than ran off years ago…" A beat. "…… She can do so much better."

If Geoforce was hoping for consolation, he was soon disappointed.

"…… I suppose your point is quite valid."

Geo faceplanted with a flustered groan...

* * *

Argent stared. Voltaire stared. Finally, they both burst out with the same exclamation:

"… **You**!"

There was a pause, and then, Voltaire managed to speak up first. "Look… I am… sure we got off on the wrong foot earlier, but… I really didn't mean to scare you back at that place; it was just… we were stuck—"

"Who are you?" She blurted out.

He sighed. "… Voltaire. The name's Voltaire."

They were both in the small reception-area of Titans-East's Tower… which, for now was being used as a 'waiting room' of sorts until all the applicants—Bumblebee expected a few more—arrived.

She softened somewhat, not nearly as alarmed. "… Voltaire… I notice you have an odd accent. Are you French…?" She asked, recognizing the name.

"No. _Soy de __México_." He answered with a simple shrug. "Uh… well… what about you…? Don't think I caught your name?"

"Argent. Just Argent…" A beat. "… I can only assume you're after a job as well."

"_S__í_. Yep." He began fumbling around in his coat pockets for his pipe… "…… I don't suppose either of your _amigos_ are coming?"

"I wish…" She sighed to herself, remembering the adorably awkward blonde. However, she quickly cleared her throat and said aloud: "….Um… No. No, they were just kind enough to give me a lift." A pause. "What about that girl that was with you?"

"She's gone, Thank God." Voltaire responded, crossing himself clumsily with his clawlike fingers. Finally finding his pipe, he pulled it out and brought it up to his reddened lips. With a slight puff, a flicker of sparks flew from his mouth as though it were a small furnace, and lit the pipe. He then drew a deep, relaxing breath and blew out a gray smoke ring that slowly expanded through the air before dissipating completely.

Argent's silvery nose wrinkled slightly with disgust, but she didn't comment. Instead, she asked: "… So… what can you do…?"

He opened his yellowed eyes again and gazed at her curiously. "…… What can I do…?" He repeated unsurely.

"I mean, are you a pyromancer?" She ventured.

"I'm a man of Faith that just happens to be a devil. I suppose." Was his simple answer. "… As for pyromancer, do you mean somebody that shoots fire or something?"

"A pyromancer is someone that controls and manipulates flame." She answered, amazed to find someone—from all appearances, with strange powers like herself—that didn't know the term.

"… Well… not really. I can breathe fire. And I can toss fireballs" He snapped his fingers and an orb of crackling flames appeared in his hands; he began juggling it. "And I can blow smoke—I've had lots of practice. But other than that, I'm just your average _hombre_."

She cocked an eyebrow as he extinguished the fireball by clapping his hands together, and took another long puff from his pipe. "... That's really not healthy, you know…"

He exhaled a puff of smoke that quivered for a moment, then dissipated into nothing. He grinned rather toothily and shrugged. "God will take me when it's my time."

"For someone who looks, the way you do…" She said with an exasperated air, "You certainly are… very spiritual."

"Well, when you've got no one else, you at least got someone, _no_?" His prehensile, pointed tail pointed upwards, presumably towards the heavens.

She smiled wryly. "… Then I take it you have no… special someone…?"

He huffed and spat another smoky cloud. "Are you _loco_,_ Chica_? Look at me."

"Well, that blonde certainly didn't seem to mind being close to you…"

He shuddered visibly and crossed himself again. "_Madre De Dios_… don't even joke like that…" He attempted to change the subject. "What about YOU, eh? You got both them weirdoes fawning over you?"

"Just o—" She stopped… and turned stark-red. "That is none of your business."

He grinned again, and shook his head. "Pah. No big deal. Anyway, hey: You heard anything about who else is after this job?"

"Well… they never said they were only going to hire one person…" Argent said with a shrug of her petite shoulders. "… But I don't know who else is interested…"

Just then, a harsh, banging knock echoed from the doorway. The both turned just in time to see the rickety iron door to the room swing open slowly and hesitantly. … There, in the open doorframe, stood a tall and imposing figure dressed in military apparel. His—hard to imagine the person being female, due to the massive build—face was completely obscured by a vaguely Soviet snow-helmet, with a blood-red visor. A shaggy green scarf draped around his neck, and his green suit looked old and worn—sharply contrasting with the polished, black rubber boots.

They stared, both quietly intimidated. But then, the figure reached up… and with one, fluid movement removed his helmet, revealing a surprisingly youthful face with narrow, green eyes and a jutting jawline with military-style sandy brown hair, cut short to a flat-top.

"… Pardon me… Iz thiz da room I am supposed to be vaiting in…?"

They stared like a couple deer in headlights, still looking at an upwards angle at the tall boy with the strange accent. Then, slowly and nervously, Argent nodded.

_(A/N: Just to clarify… I couldn't figure how to make this all work within the context of the show's timeline, so in this particular story, it's as though these characters have never met and whatnot.)_

"… Um… Good to be meeting you. I am… how you say... Looking for job. I vaz told to vait here by Ms. Bee."

"……" Argent managed to snap out of her stupor. "Oh, uh… Well. Nice too meet you, um… what was your name…?" She squeaked, still a little stupefied by his sheer size.

"Oh! Forgive me. I forgot. I am… Leonid Kovar. I apologize for my poor English. I do not use it as much as I should, but since I am in zis country now, it iz important I improve. Most people are calling me, 'Red Star'."

"Leonid… can I just call you Leo? Or just, Red?" Argent asked slowly.

The big fellow paused as though in thought. Then, with a subtle smile and a shrug. "… I do not mind Red. Vat may I call you?"

"Oh. I'm Argent. That—" She pointed to the young devil, who was sitting in the corner and filing his claws with his pipe's smooth surface. "—Is Voltaire."

"Right, right, right… _Hola_, and all……" He huffed hoarsely and absentmindedly.

She frowned. "Don't mind him. He's actually rather sweet when you get to know him… at least, I think…"

"Sweet? Hmph. More like spicy…… Hey, Big Red; I don't suppose you'd care for a smoke?" Voltaire asked, whipping a package of cigar's from an inner coat-pocket.

He shook his head politely. "I… I do not smoke, but t'ank you anyvay."

"Suit yourself, _Amigo_." Voltaire said and stuck three in his mouth at once…

"Are you going to be able to perform you best after all that smoke? I mean, you realize they're probably going to want to see us in action… you aren't guaranteed to be hired…"

At this remark, Voltaire was suddenly all-business. "…… If it comes down to me or you…" He glanced at them. "…… I apologize if I rough you up a bit in the process. _Que lastima,_ eh? _**Ahehahahah**_!" At this remark, he burst into harsh, throaty laughter that made it sound as though his lungs were black and full of soot and ash. For a moment, Argent could have sworn she saw wisps of smoke and red sparks leap from his jagged teeth—and she also thought she vaguely smelled sulfur and brimstone…

Argent stared. "Is that a threat?"

"Oh, no, no, _Chica_. I only meant, I'm in this for myself—a rogue like me has to make a living somehow, after all. And well, if I had to choose between myself and a pair of fine fellows like you… well… a shame, yes?"

Red Star's gaze narrowed as he sat down. "You are crazy like senile old man…"

* * *

_**Woo! I live! Hehhe. I appreciate you folks still reading my stuff after all this dead time, and rest assured, it's always in the back of my mind—and hopefully, I'll now have time to update more.**_

_**So, will poor Ghost be worse for the wear after having been bitten by this monstrosity? What will happen when The Titans find Leviathan and duke it out once and for all to end the storm and foil Trigon's designs—for now? And how will our intrepid young hopefuls fare in Titans' East help-wanted program? Well, you'll know soon enough. I aim to keep it as interesting as possible.**_

_**--Count Madphantom**_


	31. Chapter Twenty Four

**_The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Twenty-Four_**

"Right this way, please. No pushing; I know these corridors can be a little tight, but we're all friends here—or at least, we will be shortly." Speedy said briskly as he lead Argent, Red Star, and Voltaire through a dim hallway of the Tower, to where, they had no idea.

Argent looked around and stared at the grubby walls in disbelief. The initial rooms they had seen were mostly clean and respectable, some even bordering on immaculate. But here was a hallway that looked like something out of a derelict old factory or something…

As if reading her thoughts, the masked archer said offhandedly: "You can see this is a very old building. While we fixed it up best as we could when we moved in, it's still… in need of a little elbow grease."

"_Hehe_. A few **buckets** of it, perhaps?" Voltaire wheezed with a toothy grin.

"Ok, ok, no comments from the peanut gallery, wiseguy!" Speedy snapped. … But then, after a long and savoury silence: "… Besides. We'll see who's laughing when you guys finish melee testing."

Red Star, who had been walking the most quickly and was directly behind Speedy, stopped abruptly at the word '_melee'_. Like a comical row of dominoes, Argent thumped into his back—which for her tiny frame, might as well have been a brick wall—and then, Voltaire, who had been lazily shuffling along and bringing up the rear, thudded into her roughly.

"Funny. I don't see any red lights in the immediate vicinity…" Voltaire hissed in annoyance.

Red ignored him. "… Melee…?"

Speedy looked positively beside himself at the Russian teen's dismay. "That's right, Big Guy! We're gonna see what you newbies are made out of."

Argent looked half hurt, half irritated. "Newbie? I've been doing this since I was—"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to get your panties in a wad. I wasn't talking about you personally. But in all seriousness…" The marksman in red smirked rather knowingly. "… I think you'll find thugs in Steel City to be a bit worse than your average goon."

Argent shuddered. "… It can't be as bad as Gotham……"

Abruptly all traces of humor vanished from his face; he looked stunned. "You've worked in GOTHAM?"

"Well…… No…" She said evasively. "I just meant, it couldn't be as bad as things are in Gotham."

"You're probably right about that. All the same, we need to know that you guys can handle yourselves in a scuffle."

And with that remark, he turned back around and picked up the pace where he left off, marching through the dim halls with the three hopefuls in tow—well… except for Voltaire, who was too busy to worry; he was mentally envisioning the massive paychecks, the free room and board, the provided meals, and most of all, the fame and glory.

* * *

They definitely went this way. He could smell them. 

He wasn't sure how he was able to do so, or why he recognized the faint, subtle scent of Raven's cloak—which smelt strangely of burning incense and old herbs—but at any rate, he was certain they had taken this path… and he meant to catch up with them. After all, he remembered only too well how huge Leviathan was, and if his size was any indication, they needed all the help they could get.

It was refreshing not to have to squint through shadows any more—for whatever the reason, he was suddenly seeing with great clarity, especially after recovering his monocle; perhaps his eyes had just needed to adjust to the light… but whatever the cause, he saw through in the darkness as well as though the cave was covered in candles and torches.

His heart wrenched at the thought of the others having continued off without him… not so much that they had left him; that was understandable… rather, it was the fact that he wouldn't be there to help in the event anything happened.

'Yes, like _you'd_ be a fat lot of help…' A little voice whispered mockingly in the back of his mind, but he shoved it to the back and muffled it with thoughts of his friends, Raven in particular. He could only hope that giant eel didn't have her in its coils yet!

"You're getting worked up over nothing, Old Boy…" He sighed crisply to himself, as he usually did when nervous. "She's a capable girl; she can handle herself—and I'll bet the others are with her as we—er, I—speak! Yes, that's it! Everyone else is with her; they'll be fine. They'll… be fine……"

He wasn't sure how much he believed it… but he just kept repeating it to himself.

* * *

"Everybody stay close. If anyone gets lost in here, we'd NEVER be able to find them…" Robin said. 

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Cap'n Obvious; any more nuggets o' wisdom?" Smoke snarled grumpily before being elbowed lightly by Blackfire, who wagged her clawlike finger at him reprimandingly, and finally muttering an apology with many sideways glances.

"Really now _Mon Ami_… we aren't going to be able to slay that demon and return home if we pick each other to pieces first!" Sub-Zero said slowly, attempting to calm the situation without provoking Smoke's anger again—which didn't take much to do, especially considering the hectic circumstances.

The bickering was cut short, however, when Beast Boy stopped short, almost causing Terra to trip over him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, brushing herself off and gazing at him tiredly.

"…… I… thought I heard something…" He said slowly.

Smoke turned to glare at him with a withering look that could have cut stone. "I didn't hear nothin'. Musta been your imagination playing pranks games with your mind."

"Of course YOU didn't hear anything; you were too busy running your mouth!" Cyborg said with a wry grin.

He opened his mouth to retort, but Beast Boy placed a finger to his lips and shushed them. He cupped a clawed hand to one of his pointed, downy ears. "There! There, do you hear it…?"

Something off in the distance, a rattling, raspy hiss. It echoed out from the bowels of the cavern, soft and garbled as though churning through a layer of murky water…

Starfire took a step closer to Robin and clung to his arm with one hand. "… It is the monster…"

"……" He said nothing, but it was obvious she was correct. "… Come on. We have to keep moving. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks."

" And Ghost? What about him?" Raven said with a touch of reproachful disdain in her gravelly voice. "You left _him_ lying there alone…." She spat.

She jumped slightly when Cyborg put a massive, but gentle hand on her shoulder. "… Rae…" He said, being the only one who could call her that and get away with it most of the time—though BB had often tried—"Look… He's got a sword, remember? And if he gets mad enough, it don't matter how scared me might be—he's a fighter. He'll be able to handle himself, even against that thing…" He assured with a hint of a smile across his dark face.

… She nodded and pulled her hood farther down, obscuring her face almost entirely; she murmured a quiet apology to Robin, who only nodded.

"If we're quite finished pussyfootin' around…" Smoke snapped suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence with his barking voice and the crackle of an electric charge between his fingers. "… We got a monster that ain't gonna kill itself, you know…" His miniature monologue was punctuated by the clicking of a rifle.

**(A/N: Something that's been bugging me: You may wonder how Smoke possibly manages to carry around a seven-barreled shotgun, sniper rifle, siege gun, dual auto-revolvers, dart handgun, and a chainsaw all at once, even with a coat and backpack—I'll go ahead and tell you: It's just fiction magic. There is no real explanation…)**

"Could you be **any** more negative?" Terra sighed, thoroughly exasperated.

"It's not his fault!" Simpered Blackfire, "We're all on edge…"

"On edge? On edge? Who are you calling—" He started violently, but stopped when he realized he was talking to Blackfire. A sigh, and then. "…… I'm sorry. Look, let's just… get on with it…" He began walking again in the direction they'd been going, staring at the ground with a disgusted expression and a wrinkled nose; his boots clicked lightly on the stone ground.

As the others followed, Star left Robin's side for a moment and went to her rather shaken sister. "… It is all right. He did not intend it to be verbalized as it was….." Which, of course, was her way of saying, 'He didn't mean it.'

* * *

_Dear Diary_

_Today I met the nicest guy. He's got Valentines-red skin, cute little horns, a cute tail, and a six-pack that would make Peter Andre cry. I really didn't like him at first, because he was a meanie, and he smelled like smoke, and he had really bad breath. But then, I sorta kinda liked him when he stopped me from _(**at this point the next word is scribbled out by pink ink a few times before a good word was finally found)**_… when he saved me._

_He's way better looking than Fang ever was, and he's a lot nicer when you get to know him than that boytoy Robin and his alien wench. I tried to ask him for his number, but he said he didn't have one—I bet he was lying to me! He just didn't want me calling him. Oh, these boys; always playing hard-to-get… _

_Can you believe he wants to be a superhero, of all things? He says he's just in it for the money, though… Oh, I could have paid him much more just to come home with me. But I doubt Daddy would take it so well if I had a scary looking stranger over—it's not ladylike. At least Fang introduced himself._

_But I can't stop thinking about him! Everywhere I look at, I see those shiny yellow eyes, that dashing Roman nose, those adorable horns, that… tail, and what it's attached to! **XOXOXOXO**_

_I can't sleep for dreaming about him, but I can't dream for waking up and pacing the house as though I might find my demon-in-shining-armor coming to sweep me away to a tower of riches, where I'll be pampered day in and day out as is fitting. … Silly daydreams, but I still can't take my mind off him._

_Daddy thinks I've lost my mind because I've torn down all my movie star pictures and replaced them with little paintings of devils and things. He thinks I've fallen in with those Goths (ugh, weirdoes!) at school. But really, since I don't have in pictures of Voltaire--… oh, what a lovely name!—I'll have to go with the next best thing._

_I swear, I'll find him again, and this time, I won't take NO for an answer!_

_--Kitty_

* * *

They'd stopped to take a breather. Smoke took the opportunity to apologize, realizing that for once, he'd crossed the line in his anger. 

He walked over nervously to Blackfire, who was seated on a enormous, smooth river-rock a fair distance away from the others. She was staring at the ground with a peculiar expression on her face: half a scowl, half a forlorn frown.

"Uh…uh…" He wasn't sure how to start. So he cleared his throat, sat down next to her uneasily, and simply began to wing it. "… Blackie… Blackfire?"

"What?" She asked. He flinched. It wasn't necessarily angry or venomous, but there was still a slight cold tone to it. As if she couldn't care less.

"I… I just……" He swallowed. "I wanted t'say I'm sorry. About… what I said earlier. I… got short with you when I shouldn't have."

"You were angry." She said simply, in a tone that was almost accusatory in nature.

"…. Well… Look…. See…." He blabbered. Finally, he shook his head and gave himself a quick slap to his own cheek. "… What I mean to say, is… yeah, I got mad. I get mad a lot, usually over stuff what ain't worth getting mad about. But I really…" He trailed off momentarily, but was encouraged when she—for the first time in the conversation—looked back up at him with curious eyes. "… I really overstepped the line this time. Getting sharp with that little grass-stain Beast Boy, or Robin; that's one thing. … You're another. I'm sorry."

But rather than cheering her up, as he'd hoped, this last remark only caused her to look somewhat gloomier. "… I thought you liked Beast Boy."

"I do! I mean… of course I do; he's my friend!"

"You just called him a little grass-stain…"

"Well, he is. Wait… Gah! Look, whenever I say stuff like that, I don't mean nothin' by it, I just….." He struggled to find the appropriate words while Blackfire looked at him expectantly. He sighed.

"… No. You're right. I shouldn't have said that. … There are probably a lot of things I've said just jokin' around… that still shouldn't-a been said." A beat. "… I'll… I'll try not to be so sharp with everybody in the future, a'ight?" He said with a sheepish grin.

She perked up somewhat, smiling warmly. "… That would probably be a good idea." She paused. "…… Smoke… what are you going to do first when we get back to the tower?"

He stared. "Well… uh… I hadn't really thought about it a great deal…"

She shrugged. "Just curious. I'm… I'm a little nervous about this whole thing."

"Why?"

"… I don't know. But Starfire is, too. I can tell. Maybe it's just us, but… I think that this monster isn't the last thing we'll have to overcome." Blackfire said sagely, in a somewhat more controlled, articulate voice than usual.

"Whatever it is, let 'em come!" Smoke barked. "I don't care what it is. A monster, a villain, a demon, I'll die before I let 'em touch one hair of your head! I'll muderlize 'em, I'll—"

She silenced him with a gentle forefinger to his lips, and a playful smile. "… You're getting belligerent again, Hun."

He flushed red. "Sorry. It's just… I hate the thought of anything happening to you. So I'm not gonna let it."

For the first time in a long while, she beamed at him. "I know you won't. … I know."

Their eyes met; flashing golden-hazel against luminous, glowing violet. Abruptly, Blackfire began to slowly lean forward. "… Smoke… I really do love you, you know."

He fidgeted nervously. "I know." … It took him a moment to realize how utterly self-important that sounded. "Uh! I mean… I know, but it's still nice to…"

"Shhh." She shushed him again and began leaning forward closing her eyes. At the same moment, she put her slender hand behind his head and wrapped her long fingers around a tuft of his bristling brown hair. She began tilting his head downwards and closer to her…

As their lips met, Blackfire enjoyed a fleeting moment of bliss.

… But abruptly, there was a loud yelp of pain from Smoke, and she felt him literally ripped from her arm. Her eyes snapped open in alarm, and she looked around bewilderedly—he was gone. She heard a yell from above and she—like the others—let her eyes rise to the ceiling.

An enormous, ugly serpent's head—eyes glowing, lips dripping with venom, and gnarled fishlike fins sprouting from jagged scales. And there in it's mouth, was a writhing Smoke, pinned to the creatures massive, forked tongue by giant fangs, his struggles doing little good and growing progressively weaker.

Leviathan had made his move.

* * *

**_... ZOMFG. He LIVES. (Dumdumduuuum!!)_**

**_... No, but seriously, I haven't thrown in the towel just yet. : ) Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, and Hope I can get a new one--and maybe even an update to some of my other minific-projects (fantasy and haunted houses, anyone?)_**

**_Anyway, as always... Reviews are love. So make reviews, not war. _**


	32. Chapter TwentyFive, Part One

_**The Demon, The Witch, And The Ghost--Chapter Twenty-Five, Part One**_

"I don't believe this…" Voltaire chuckled arrogantly. "We've got to fight _them_? Almost makes me feel sorry for the poor _idiotas_."

"Do not underestimate your opponent." Argent said coolly. "You may be the _idiota_ before the day's over with."

Voltaire shot her a nasty look, but didn't respond. He turned his yellowish eyes towards the people on the opposite end of the enclosed chamber.

The first was a girl. Very small, very thin, with a good volume of fluffy pink hair upon her head, two long locks of which were fixed into antennae shapes, jutting upwards and outwards in such a way that was both bizarre and oddly becoming at the same time. Her clothes' short white skirt was only marginally lighter than her fair, porcelain-like skin, and this delicateness was only enhanced by her sleeves, which were long, poofy and blue, ending in wide, lacey frills around the wrists.

She seemed to be all smiles, talking cheerfully to a large, slouching figure beside her—an enormous, muscular fellow with a shock of ragged, dark hair and short, uneven beard stubble. He wore only a spotted loincloth that came down to his knees, and concealed half his chest. Strapped to his back with strips of leather was an enormous, spiked club constructed out of what seemed like a combination of stone and wood.

The third and last of them was dressed in a thick white uniform with matching pants, probably made of some sort of thick linen, with a belt of black cloth tied in the front like a sash. The collar rose up high behind his neck in an almost V-shaped fashion. He wore simple sandals, and had distinctly Asian features complete with oiled black hair in a long topknot, and thin, angular black eyes. On his left hip were a katana and a wakizashi, blades of slightly differing lengths—the katana being longer—but identical black sheaths and silver blades; both the sheaths were strapped horizontally at a slight tilt… on his right hip, however, a pair of small sheaths hung vertically concealed a pair of tantos—a knife-sized katana blade.

Abruptly, Voltaire was shaken out of his thoughts by Red Star's deep voice. "I vould be most concerned vith the swordsman."

Argent shook her head. "Are you kidding? He's nothing compared to the guy with the club. … Though I can't say much for his friend, there…" She added disdainfully—disdain which seemed to be directed more at her coiffure than anything.

Voltaire started to retort by saying he wasn't intimidated by any of them—until Speedy's voice rang out on the PA system.

"Right. Now that you're all here, it's time for melee testing. I've you've got any last words, write them down now."—A pause where crickets chirped.—"I was just kidding! Sheesh."

Aqualad's voice echoed from a speaker on the opposite side of the chamber: "You and your stupid jokes. This is serious business, you know! If we—"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh. Spoilsport." He cleared his throat here, popping the speaker a little and producing a highpitched whine. "Ok, then. It's team one against team 2… remember! This is for evaluative purposes only. No excessive force allowed."

"He means, '_don't kill anyone'_." Aqualad sighed, exasperated, from his speaker again. "And remember: There's a reason none of you have been introduced; we want to see how you can adapt to unfamiliar situations."

And with that, the buzzer overhead rang shrilly.

* * *

"LET HIM GO!" Blackfire screamed, clawing at the slimy lips of the beast, trying to pry its toothy mouth open long enough to wrench her lover away from its maw. 

"Yeah! Let him—**OW**!—go! Geeze!" Smoke yelped, gritting his teeth and bowing up as best he could against the pain of Leviathan's huge incisors. They had managed to make themselves felt even through the tough leather, denim, and cotton he had on. He attempted several times to electrocute the monster, sending arcs of lightning over its mouth and between its teeth, but the beast seemed resistant to the shock.

"LET GO! YOU FREAK!" Blackfire screeched, drawing her fist back. It cracked briefly with violet energy like an electrical blowtorch, and she swung it viciously at the monster's snout, leaving a glittering trail of purple sparks in its wake.

The blow connected and immediately snapped the creature's head back, knocking its mouth open and allowing Smoke to tumble out into midair, clutching at his gut. Blackfire managed to swoop downwards and catch him in her slender arms, looping one arm under his knees and the other behind his neck. She bolted through the air in order to get him a safe distance away while the monster recovered.

"Get it while it's stunned!" Robin called, motioning towards the creature's writhing form.

Immediately, as though Leviathan understood human speech perfectly, he glared down at Robin, his serpentine body coiling and uncoiling as his fins fanned out and his forked tongue flickered. All of the sudden, its eyes flashed red, like crimson headlights on an enormous truck, staring right into The Boy Wonder's mask…

… And Robin abruptly felt his muscles begin to spasm and tighten uncontrollably, like a thousand small cramps simultaneously hitting his whole form. He cried out and fell down, unable to even move properly.

Leviathan lowered its ugly head, its numerous glittering fangs twisting into an abhorrent sneer as gaudy fins fanned out on both sides of its serpent head, and its oily gills quivered excitedly. It licked its scaly chops with its tongue, flickering and dripping with some awful, sizzling poison. Its mouth opened and unhinged itself like a snake's, widening enough to swallow a small vehicle; its breath rushed out in a torrent of hot, gaseous fumes that smelt of rotten meat and stagnant water.

Its appetite, however, was abruptly shaken as it was fed, not a stunned superhero, but a mouthful of crackling green solarbeam. Bolts of Starfire's potent energy hurtled out of the blue and singed the inside of the archdemon's mouth. As it yanked its head back and snapped its huge jaws shut, Starfire landed and grabbed Robin, whose pain seemed to have been ceased with the breaking of Leviathan's power.

"You will leave him alone!" Starfire shouted. She fired a blinding eye-beam that exploded into emerald flames upon contact, scorching the writhing monster and causing it to lose its hold on the upper stalactites and fall downwards, shaking the entire cavern; it was only sheer luck that prevented anyone from being crushed by the monsters undulating body.

"Hey, look out! The ceiling!" Smoke managed to groan loud enough to warn the others from his position in the far-side of the cavern, his head in Blackfire's lap while she tried to put enough pressure on him to stop any bleeding that might be happening. She was pointing, too, at the ceiling…

Several enormous stalactites were wavering dangerously, loosened by the impact of Leviathan's plunge. Then, with a loud and grating crunch, they snapped and tumbled downwards point-first.

Cyborg, thinking quickly, took aim and began pumping out spheres of supersonic power, blowing apart the rocks and reducing most of them to harmless pea-gravel. However, fast as he was, there was one he didn't quite get to in time; it came downward straight toward him. Instinctively, he brought his huge metal arms up in front in an attempt to shield himself and avoid being skewered.

There was a flash of golden light, and the stalactite froze in midair.

For a moment, Cyborg was baffled, but he grinned when he looked to his immediate left and saw Terra at a fair distance, twisting her hands in front of her in a grabbing motion. Her eyes shone with the same golden light that now surrounded the stone spire.

Leviathan was up again and was now snarling angrily, slithering forward with a menacing look in its slit eyes.

Terra's face hardened in concentration, and she reared back, 'winding up' for a pitch like a baseball player—then, with a fling of her wiry arm, the stalactite shot itself forward on a missile trajectory, that golden glow propelling it forward from the back like a rocket.

The plan was foiled, however: Leviathan inhaled with a rattling hiss, and then, his eyes shone red as he exhaled a plume of noxious flames, like toxic napalm, that sprayed the immediate area in front of its mouth. Instantly, the stone projectile was vaporized into smoldering black ashes that faded into nothing.

"Wait a second…" Smoke groaned, prying himself from his comfortable spot in Blackfire's lap. "… How the Hell does a sea monster breathe fire?"

"I don't know! But lie back down; you're hurt!" Blackfire snapped with a wince. Although, the wound in question was already starting to shrink and the bleeding was reduced to an occasional droplet.

While Blackfire tried to restrain the overzealous gunman, Raven took advantage of Leviathan's pause—apparently to catch its foul breath after its flame attack—by chanting a quick phrase, and materializing ethereal dark wings from her cloak: black and spectral, and glittering with silvery light. They were obviously a product of magic, but still very convincing. She took flight, much faster than her usual levitation, and hurled herself headlong at the Leviathan.

She gave the ghostly wings a vicious flap, striking them together like cymbals, and a swarm of sizzling, black spirit feathers sprayed forth and stuck into Leviathan's reptilian face like needles in a pincushion. Then, just as it opened its mouth to roar, they burst into obsidian flames, torching its head with black magic and producing a hissing geyser of dark mist.

Ignoring the attack with surprising tenacity, the beast slithered forward with enough force to cause the weathered stone floor the rumble, and the deep pits of water in the area to slosh colossally, almost flooding over. Charred, but far from vanquished, The Leviathan opened it's ancient maw wide, and its bottom jaw began to unhinge like a massive snake's mouth. With the striking speed of an enormous basilisk, it lunged forward with murder in its glowing yellow-red eyes, orbs of poison in gaunt, oily sockets.

There was a horrific snap, like a thousand bear traps slamming shut in tandem, and a split-second's startled cry, and Raven was gone.

Sub-Zero, having been on the alert since the creature first appeared, saw his opportunity to act, knowing that any attempt by Cyborg to blow open the creature's jaws or Terra to crush it's mouth with a boulder… would probably hurt Raven. Yet, something had to be done before…

He took aim in an infinitely brief second, and hurled his shield, letting it whirl through the air like an ancient Greek discus. Seemingly of its own accord, the frozen, circular projectile swerved in midair a few times, curving almost gracefully into a broad arc and impacting powerfully with Leviathan's fangs in a shower of snowflakes and frost. In that moment, the large right-side fang that was struck crystallized and shattered, the shards quickly dissolving into small mounds of snow—and lo and behold, Raven, gasping and wretching from her exposure to the putrid fog of Leviathan's breath, tumbled out and landed, quivering, on the rough rocky ground.

In a moment, Sub-Zero was on one knee, with his cape slung around the addled Raven. "I don't mean to give Ghost competition…" He stated. "But you don't look so well." He smiled simply and brushed a bit off stinging goo off of her face. Raven could only smile wryly.

They were interrupted by an enormous rumble from behind…

Reflexively, Sub-Zero turned and drew his icy rapier, but realized as he stared up at the angry monstrosity that his sword, no matter how sharp, would be of little use against something so massive and close… it lunged at them again, and both Raven and Zero tensed, the knight bringing his retrieved shield up rather futilely as though to protect them…

… But the giant bite never came.

Without warning, a shadowy streak bolted in a straight line through the air, its dark black coloration curiously standing out against the dim background of the undersea cave. It collided like a Hellish comet into the side of Leviathan's head, knocking the giant monster over to the side with a crash, its writhing body sliding slowly off the cold stone walls…

Raven and Sub-Zero stared, stunned, as did the others… but only Raven spoke.

She blinked. "… Ghost…?"

* * *

"This sucks." Jinx said miserably as she popped a couple Tylenol capsules into her mouth and washed it down with some tea she'd got from the fridge. "Someone's apparently broke in, every one else is nowhere to be found, Mammoth and Gizmo ditched us to go look around…" A patter against a nearby windowpane. "… and this rain is only JUST starting to let up!" She wrinkled her gray nose. "I can't believe this… wherever they are, I hope Zero's all right. He's no pushover, but still…." 

Shimmer glared, leaning against a pillar. "…… What do you see in him? He looks like some kind of zombie wannabe."

Jinx sighed. "He's only white like that because that's what his kind looks like. White hair, too. Same with his eyes…"

"… His…… kind…?" Shimmer said slowly, with a tone of subdued revulsion. "What do you mean?"

"Long story…" She saw Shimmer's bemused stare. "Look, he's human, OK? But anyway, it's not his looks, it's—" She stopped.

"It's what?" Shimmer simpered, almost mockingly. "He's sweet? He treats poor 'ittle Jinx like a porcelain doll that might break?"

"No!" Jinx said hotly, though she didn't admit that Zero _was_ somewhat overprotective or accommodating sometimes… "Look, I love him. That's all that matters."

"Is it because he saved your life?" Shimmer asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or let me guess…" A wicked grin here. "… He's just very well made, if you catch my drift?"

Jinx went stark white, then reddened; she protested with a scowl: "… No! Stop it. Just…. Quit. There are more important things to be worrying about…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


End file.
